RAPID: Collaborative Research: Investigation of microbial roles in Pacific Asteroidea wasting disease

RAPID：合作研究：调查微生物在太平洋 Asteroidea 消耗性疾病中的作用

• 批准号: 1401727
• 负责人: Ian Hewson
• 金额: $ 3.34万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 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: 2013-11-15 至 2014-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1401727&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Collaborative; Research; Investigation; microbial

Sea stars are keystone predator species in many coastal environments, where they consume dominant invertebrate taxa, e.g. bivalve mollusks and sea urchins. A very significant echinoderm disease, Sea-Star Wasting Disease (SSWD) appears to be having a dramatic, and negative, effect on sea-star populations on the Pacific Coast of the United States. This RAPID response project seeks to identify causative agents of SSWD in the outbreak that is currently occurring on the Pacific Coast, in concert with observations on the extent of the event with respect to species affected, prevalence, virulence, spatial distribution, and geographic extent. Viruses, bacteria, and protozoa will be examined in healthy and diseased tissues of sea-stars using molecular approaches and comparisons of the microbial flora between healthy and diseased tissues will permit identification of candidate pathogens. The project represents a coordinated ecological and microbiological study into the role of pathogenic microorganisms in sea star disease. This study will provide new information on the diversity of viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotic microorganisms inhabiting echinoderms, and the outcomes of this project will include: 1) identification of microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, and protozoa) associated with the disease; 2) analysis of geographical extent of the disease, its progression, and impact on sea star population size; and 3) linking the identified microorganisms with their prevalence in SSWD-affected populations. The net result will be an understanding of the cause of disease, how it relates to environmental conditions, and subsequent impacts of the disease on wider coastal ecology. In addition to undergraduate student in disease ecology research a citizen's science group will be engaged to assess the prevalence and impact of this disease throughout the full range of occurrence along the Pacific Coast. These data, along with survey data from other groups using similar sampling methods, will be uploaded to a database and used to populate the Sea Star Wasting Disease Map, which provides information on SSWD presence at sites along the entire west coast of North America. Already, this map and the SSWD information associated with it have been accessed by users throughout the world. By directly combining ecological and microbiological studies of SSWD, these studies will provide a more complete understanding of SSWD, which will benefit researchers globally, and assist managers in mitigating risk of future outbreaks.

在许多沿海环境中，海星是基石捕食者物种，它们消耗了主要的无脊椎动物类群，例如双壳类软体动物和海胆。 一种非常重要的棘皮动物疾病，海星浪费疾病（SSWD）似乎对美国太平洋海岸的海星人口产生了戏剧性和负面影响。 这个快速的响应项目旨在确定当前在太平洋沿岸发生的爆发中SSWD的致病药物，同时观察到有关事件的程度有关受影响的物种，流行，毒力，空间分布和地理范围的观察。 病毒，细菌和原生动物将在健康和患病的健康组织中使用分子方法和健康组织和患病组织中微生物菌群的比较进行检查，将允许鉴定候选病原体。该项目代表了一项协调的生态和微生物研究，以致病性微生物在海星疾病中的作用。这项研究将提供有关病毒，细菌和真核微生物的多样性的新信息，该项目的结果将包括：1）与疾病相关的微生物（病毒，细菌和原生动物）的鉴定； 2）分析疾病的地理范围，其进展以及对海星人口规模的影响； 3）将确定的微生物与受SSWD影响的人群的流行联系起来。最终结果将是对疾病原因的理解，与环境条件的关系以及疾病随后对更广泛的沿海生态的影响。除了疾病生态研究的本科生外，公民科学小组还将参与评估该疾病在整个太平洋海岸的全部发生范围内的流行和影响。 这些数据以及使用类似采样方法的其他组的调查数据将上传到数据库，并用于填充海星浪费疾病图，该图提供了有关SWD在北美整个西海岸的地点的信息。该地图和与之关联的SWD信息已经被全球用户访问。通过直接结合SSWD的生态和微生物研究，这些研究将对SSWD提供更全面的了解，SSWD将使全球研究人员受益，并帮助管理人员减轻未来爆发的风险。