Collaborative Research: Influence of below-ground species interactions on dynamics above ground: Trait-mediated indirect effects from soils to parasites of leaf-feeding herbivores

合作研究：地下物种相互作用对地上动态的影响：土壤对食叶食草动物寄生虫的性状介导的间接影响

• 批准号: 1256115
• 负责人: Mark Hunter
• 金额: $ 42.11万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-03-15 至 2017-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1256115&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Influence; below; ground

Almost all known organisms, from humans to soybeans, are attacked by parasites that cause disease. Parasites vary in their transmission rate, which influences how quickly they can spread; and in their virulence, a measure of how strongly they worsen the health of their hosts. Recent research now shows that other organisms in the environment can influence the transmission and virulence of parasites. For example, antibiotics in milkweed plants that are eaten by monarch butterflies can protect the butterflies from parasites, and female monarchs that are already infected with parasites show a preference for laying their eggs on plants containing high concentrations of the antibiotics. But what makes one milkweed plant contain more or less antibiotic than another? Fungi in the soil interact with the roots of plants to influence the concentration of antibiotics in plant leaves, and so may be determining rates of parasitism above ground. Using monarchs as a model, this project explores interactions between soil fungi, plants, herbivores, and their parasites. The researchers hypothesize that the abundance and identity of the fungi in the soil help determine the infection rates of the butterflies above ground, and that plants that are colonized by soil fungi become more attractive to egg-laying butterflies that are already infected with parasites.This work has broad impacts beyond the study of butterflies. The parasites studied in the project are related to those that cause malaria in humans, so the research may help understand the transmission and virulence of human parasites. Many crop pests have parasites that might be made more effective by managing soil fungi. Students trained on this project will come from diverse backgrounds and join established mentoring programs at the University of Michigan and Emory University. Schoolteachers will develop teaching plans in association with the project, and monarch butterflies remain popular for teaching scientific principles to the general public.

几乎所有已知的生物体，从人类到大豆，都会受到引起疾病的寄生虫的攻击。 寄生虫的传播速度各不相同，这会影响它们传播的速度；以及它们的毒力，衡量它们对宿主健康的恶化程度。 最近的研究表明，环境中的其他生物体可以影响寄生虫的传播和毒力。 例如，帝王蝶食用的马利筋植物中的抗生素可以保护蝴蝶免受寄生虫侵害，而已经感染寄生虫的雌性帝王蝶更喜欢在含有高浓度抗生素的植物上产卵。 但是什么让一种马利筋植物比另一种植物含有更多或更少的抗生素呢？ 土壤中的真菌与植物的根相互作用，影响植物叶子中抗生素的浓度，因此可能决定地上寄生率。 该项目以帝王蝶为模型，探索土壤真菌、植物、食草动物及其寄生虫之间的相互作用。 研究人员推测，土壤中真菌的丰度和特性有助于确定地上蝴蝶的感染率，并且被土壤真菌定殖的植物对已经感染寄生虫的产卵蝴蝶更具吸引力。工作具有超出蝴蝶研究之外的广泛影响。 该项目研究的寄生虫与引起人类疟疾的寄生虫有关，因此该研究可能有助于了解人类寄生虫的传播和毒力。 许多农作物害虫都含有寄生虫，通过管理土壤真菌可能会使其更加有效。接受该项目培训的学生将来自不同的背景，并加入密歇根大学和埃默里大学既定的指导计划。 学校教师将制定与该项目相关的教学计划，帝王蝶在向公众教授科学原理方面仍然很受欢迎。