Collaborative Research: Molecular and Chemical Ecology of Freshwater Sponges: Impacts of Sponge Hosts on Symbiotic Microbial Communities

合作研究：淡水海绵的分子和化学生态学：海绵宿主对共生微生物群落的影响

• 批准号: 0343098
• 负责人: Robert Thacker
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-15 至 2007-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0343098&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Molecular; Chemical; Ecology

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Julie Olson at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and Dr. Robert Thacker at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to examine microbial communities associated with freshwater sponges. Several species of freshwater sponges from the Mobile River Basin, Alabama, will be examined to determine whether they host unique microbial taxa that are not found in the surrounding riverine environment. A combination of bacterial cultivation studies and molecular genetic analyses will be employed in this determination. These investigations will also assess whether bacterial symbionts are host-specific, and whether freshwater sponges produce chemical compounds that affect the composition of their internal microbial communities. Crude extracts of freshwater sponges will be tested in laboratory assays for their ability to inhibit growth of bacteria isolated from freshwater environments. Active compounds will be isolated and characterized, with a strong potential for the identification of novel antibiotic compounds. This research project will provide much-needed documentation of the diversity and abundance of freshwater sponges in the Mobile River Basin, since the ecological status of these sensitive indicators of water quality is currently unknown. Freshwater sponges and their symbiotic bacterial communities may provide a model system to integrate studies of ecology, evolution, and drug discovery. In addition to providing research opportunities for one graduate student and one undergraduate student, the investigators will incorporate protocols and results from these studies into graduate and undergraduate courses. These results will also be disseminated to the local community to enhance awareness of water quality issues, including eutrophication, sedimentation, and pollution.

阿拉巴马大学塔斯卡卢萨分校的 Julie Olson 博士和阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校的 Robert Thacker 博士获得了一笔资助，用于研究与淡水海绵相关的微生物群落。 将检查来自阿拉巴马州莫比尔河流域的几种淡水海绵，以确定它们是否拥有周围河流环境中未发现的独特微生物类群。 该测定将结合细菌培养研究和分子遗传学分析。 这些研究还将评估细菌共生体是否具有宿主特异性，以及淡水海绵是否产生影响其内部微生物群落组成的化合物。 淡水海绵的粗提取物将在实验室检测中测试其抑制从淡水环境中分离出的细菌生长的能力。 活性化合物将被分离和表征，具有鉴定新型抗生素化合物的巨大潜力。 该研究项目将为莫比尔河流域淡水海绵的多样性和丰度提供急需的文献资料，因为这些敏感水质指标的生态状况目前尚不清楚。 淡水海绵及其共生细菌群落可能提供一个模型系统来整合生态学、进化和药物发现的研究。 除了为一名研究生和一名本科生提供研究机会外，研究人员还将把这些研究的方案和结果纳入研究生和本科生课程中。 这些结果还将传播给当地社区，以提高对水质问题的认识，包括富营养化、沉积和污染。