ABR: Models of natural selection, development, and life history

ABR：自然选择、发育和生命史模型

• 批准号: 1251035
• 负责人: Steven Frank
• 金额: $ 27.5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 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: 2013-09-15 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1251035&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ABR; Models; natural; selection; development

This project will develop evolutionary theories about the characteristics of bacteria and other microbes. Previous work showed the importance of variability in food and other resources over space and time. For example, continuous and predictable resource environments favor microbes that grow slowly and use resources efficiently. By contrast, temporary resource environments favor microbes that compete strongly among themselves, grow rapidly, and use resources inefficiently. Those different patterns of competition and resource use have cascading effects on the surrounding biological communities. In this research, the investigator will test hypotheses about the primary factors that influence key microbial traits. The work requires synthesis of diverse studies from other fields, and the novel theoretical work is expected to create new approaches to fundamental problems in ecology and evolution. Understanding bacterial characters is important, because our bodies carry trillions of bacteria. Recent research shows that those bacteria influence nearly every aspect of our health. Beyond our bodies, studies of soil, plant growth, and cycling of nutrients through ecosystems also show strong influence by numerous and diverse bacteria and other microbes. To understand those microbial inputs, one must study the ecological and evolutionary processes that have influenced the characteristics of the microbes.

该项目将发展有关细菌和其他微生物特征的进化理论。之前的工作表明了食物和其他资源随空间和时间变化的重要性。例如，连续且可预测的资源环境有利于缓慢生长并有效利用资源的微生物。相比之下，临时资源环境有利于微生物之间的激烈竞争、快速生长和资源利用效率低下。这些不同的竞争和资源利用模式对周围的生物群落产生连锁效应。在这项研究中，研究人员将测试有关影响关键微生物特征的主要因素的假设。这项工作需要综合其他领域的各种研究，新颖的理论工作有望为生态学和进化中的基本问题创造新的方法。了解细菌特征很重要，因为我们的身体携带数万亿细菌。最近的研究表明，这些细菌几乎影响我们健康的各个方面。除了我们的身体之外，对土壤、植物生长和生态系统中养分循环的研究也显示出众多不同的细菌和其他微生物的强烈影响。为了了解这些微生物输入，我们必须研究影响微生物特征的生态和进化过程。