NSF PRFB FY 2023: Impact of Environment-Seagrass-Microbe Interactions on Seagrass Stress Response and Ecosystem Functions

NSF PRFB 2023 财年：环境-海草-微生物相互作用对海草应激反应和生态系统功能的影响

• 批准号: 2305691
• 负责人: Jamila Roth
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: Roth, Jamila
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-03-01 至 2027-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2305691&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; PRFB; FY; 2023; Impact

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment, and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Beneficial bacteria can reduce the impact of stressful conditions on plants. Seagrasses are marine plants that grow in stressful environments. One common stressor is high sulfide concentrations. Sulfide is a toxic chemical that is abundant in marine sediments and can cause seagrass die-offs. The bacteria, Candidatus Thiodiazotropha, can detoxify seagrass sediments by oxidizing sulfide, which is a process that removes sulfide from the environment. This research will determine how the presence and abundance of Ca. Thiodiazotropha impacts seagrass health under various levels of environmental stress. Seagrass meadows are an economically and culturally valuable resource, and positive interactions between seagrasses and bacteria provide a potential tool for evaluating seagrass vulnerability to stressors and increasing stress tolerance of restored seagrasses. This research will integrate environment-seagrass-microbe interactions to better understand the generality and magnitude of plant-microbe interactions under varying environmental conditions. The fellow will analyze (a) the relative impacts of plant traits vs. environmental conditions on Ca. Thiodiazotropha abundance using a reciprocal transplant experiment, (b) how interactions between sulfide stress and Ca. Thiodiazotropha affect seagrass performance using a mesocosm experiment, and (c) how seagrass-microbe interactions translate environmental heterogeneity to higher-order variation in plant performance and nutrient cycling using an incubation experiment. Results from this research will advance fundamental knowledge related to the evolutionary ecology of plant microbiomes, drivers of nitrogen cycling in coastal ecosystems, and the impact of environment-plant-microbe interactions on ecosystem functions and processes. The fellow will receive training in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry techniques, inclusive pedagogical strategies, and science communication. This project will promote the training of students, including students from groups underrepresented in the sciences, through the development and implementation of high school science curriculum and mentorship of undergraduate students.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.

该行动资助 2023 财年 NSF 生物学博士后研究奖学金，旨在调查基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。有益细菌可以减少应激条件对植物的影响。海草是在压力环境中生长的海洋植物。一种常见的压力源是高硫化物浓度。硫化物是一种有毒化学物质，在海洋沉积物中含量丰富，可导致海草死亡。这种名为Candidatus Thiodiazotropica的细菌可以通过氧化硫化物来解毒海草沉积物，这是一个从环境中去除硫化物的过程。这项研究将确定 Ca 的存在和丰度如何。硫固氮菌在不同程度的环境压力下都会影响海草的健康。海草草甸是一种具有经济和文化价值的资源，海草和细菌之间的积极相互作用为评估海草对压力源的脆弱性和提高恢复后的海草的压力耐受性提供了潜在的工具。这项研究将整合环境-海草-微生物相互作用，以更好地了解不同环境条件下植物-微生物相互作用的普遍性和程度。该研究员将分析 (a) 植物性状与环境条件对 Ca 的相对影响。使用相互移植实验测定硫固氮菌丰度，(b) 硫化物胁迫与 Ca 之间的相互作用如何。硫固氮菌利用中生态实验影响海草性能，以及（c）海草-微生物相互作用如何利用孵化实验将环境异质性转化为植物性能和养分循环的高阶变化。这项研究的结果将推进与植物微生物组进化生态学、沿海生态系统氮循环驱动因素以及环境-植物-微生物相互作用对生态系统功能和过程的影响相关的基础知识。该研究员将接受微生物生态学和生物地球化学技术、包容性教学策略和科学传播方面的培训。该项目将通过高中科学课程的开发和实施以及对本科生的指导，促进对学生的培训，包括来自科学领域代表性不足群体的学生。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。