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.

这个博士论文研究项目研究了雄性领袖的接管和杀婴攻击对野生灵长类动物的婴儿社会逆境和肠道微生物群的影响。即使婴儿在袭击中幸存下来，也可能会承受巨大的压力。压力源会导致正在发育的肠道微生物群不稳定，这可能会对宿主的消化和免疫力产生负面影响。研究小组研究了肠道微生物群的变化是否是持久的，或者是否可以在以后的生活中通过稳定的环境来克服。该项目提升 STEM 领域第一代研究人员和女性的研究经验，并为西班牙裔公立大学的本科生和研究生提供遗传实验室方法的培训机会。研究结果传达给现场管理人员和现场当地社区，为灵长类动物管理计划和当地极度濒危野生灵长类动物的保护工作做出贡献。该项目研究肠道微生物群的发育如何与生命早期经历的生态和社会压力源相关。利用来自极度濒危灵长类疣猴野生种群 15 年的数据，研究人员调查了：1）不利条件（即食物供应不足、母系亲属丧失、雄性领袖接管和杀婴风险升高）是否可以预测婴儿肠道微生物群组成； 2）这些不利条件（无论是当前经历的还是婴儿时期经历的）是否可以预测青少年期、亚成年期或成年期的肠道微生物群。每月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、雄性领袖接管、杀婴风险以及母系亲属的存在。肠道微生物群的组成是通过使用来自婴儿和具有已知婴儿状况的晚年个体的 C. vellerosus 粪便样本的 16S rRNA 基因测序来确定的。该项目解决了早期生活逆境与婴儿期肠道微生物群之间的直接关系，以及这些与婴儿期不利条件相关的潜在变化是否持续到以后的生命阶段。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识进行评估，被认为值得支持。优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。