Doctoral Dissertation Research: Early Life Adversity and Gut Microbiota Composition

博士论文研究：早期生活逆境和肠道微生物群组成

• 批准号: 2235903
• 负责人: Eva Wikberg
• 金额: $ 2.7万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at San Antonio
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-04-01 至 2025-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235903&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Early; Life

This doctoral dissertation research project examines the effects of alpha male takeovers and infanticidal attacks on infant social adversity and gut microbiota in wild primates. Infants may experience significant stress even if they survive an attack. Stressors can cause the developing gut microbiota to destabilize, which may negatively affect host digestion and immunity. The team investigates whether gut microbiota changes are long-lasting or if they can be overcome with stable environments later in life. The project advances research experiences for first-generation researchers and women in STEM and provides training opportunities in genetic laboratory methods for undergraduate and graduate students at a Hispanic-serving public university. Research results are communicated to site managers and the local community at the field location, contributing to primate management plans and local conservation efforts of critically endangered wild primates. This project examines how gut microbiota development associates with ecological and social stressors experienced early in life. Leveraging 15 years of data from a wild population of the critically endangered primate Colobus vellerosus, the researchers investigate: 1) whether adverse conditions (i.e., low food availability, loss of maternal kin, alpha male takeovers, and elevated infanticide risk) predict infant gut microbiota composition; and 2) whether these adverse conditions, either currently experienced and/or experienced as an infant, predict the gut microbiota during juvenescence, subadulthood, or adulthood. Monthly ecological data and weekly demographic data are used to determine food abundance, competition for food, alpha male takeovers, infanticide risk, and presence of maternal kin. The composition of the gut microbiota is determined from 16S rRNA gene sequencing using C. vellerosus fecal samples from infants and from individuals at later age life stages with known infancy conditions. The project addresses immediate relationships between early life adversity and gut microbiota in infancy and whether these potential changes associated with adverse conditions in infancy persist into later life stages.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该博士学位论文研究项目研究了alpha男性接管和杀婴攻击对野生灵长类动物中婴儿社会逆境和肠道菌群的影响。即使婴儿在攻击中幸存下来，也可能会承受重大压力。压力源会导致发育中的肠道微生物群破坏稳定，这可能会对宿主的消化和免疫力产生负面影响。该小组调查了肠道微生物群的变化是长期的，还是在以后的生活中可以通过稳定的环境来克服它们。该项目为第一代研究人员和STEM的妇女提供了研究经验，并为西班牙裔服务公立大学的本科和研究生提供了基因实验室方法的培训机会。将研究结果传达给现场经理和当地社区的现场地点，这有助于灵长类动物管理计划和严重濒临灭绝的野生动物的当地保护工作。该项目研究了肠道菌群发展与生态和社会压力源在生命早期经历的如何相关的。利用急性濒危的灵长类动物哥洛布斯·韦勒索斯（Colobus vellerosus）的野生人群的15年数据，研究人员进行了调查：1）不良情况（即低食物可用性，孕产妇的丧失，雌性亲属的丧失，alpha雄性接管和a ai剂风险）预测婴儿肠风险）菌群组成； 2）这些不良疾病是当前经历和/或作为婴儿经历的，在青少年，亚载体或成年期间都可以预测肠道菌群。每月的生态数据和每周人口统计数据用于确定食物丰度，食物竞争，α雄性接管，杀婴风险以及孕产妇亲属的存在。肠道微生物群的组成是由16S rRNA基因测序确定的，使用来自婴儿的牛油梭菌样品和较晚年龄寿命阶段的患者，并具有已知婴儿期。该项目解决了婴儿期早期生命逆境与肠道微生物群之间的直接关系，以及这些潜在的变化是否与婴儿期不良状况有关，持续到以后的生活阶段。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子来评估的支持优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。