NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Understanding the role of dietary toxins in shaping microbial community dynamics in the gut

NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：了解膳食毒素在塑造肠道微生物群落动态中的作用

• 批准号: 2305735
• 负责人: Jessica Aguilar
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: Aguilar, Jessica
• 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: 2024-01-01 至 2026-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2305735&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; Understanding

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Communities of microbes that live in and on animals provide essential functions to one another and their hosts. Community structure (the types and abundances of microbes present) and function are shaped by interactions between the microbes themselves and also between microbes and their hosts. Diet, especially dietary toxins like caffeine, also contribute to differential community structures, but the ways microbial interactions and dietary toxins act together in shaping communities is not well understood. These studies will contribute to the general body of work describing the dynamic interactions between gut microbiomes and their hosts, and add a new layer (the effects of dietary toxins) to our understanding of the interaction outcomes. This new knowledge can be applied in human health contexts, where gut microbial community dynamics are known to have varied impacts on health, and has a clear application in biocontrol of the coffee berry borer, which contributes to the loss of ~$500 million in revenue in coffee growing regions. This project will also broaden participation and inclusion of underrepresented groups in biology through scientific and professional training of early career scientists and facilitating training on conflict resolution using restorative justice techniques.This project will combine observational and experimental studies to better understand the dynamics of the microbial community and dietary toxins on community structure and function in the gut microbiome of the coffee pest, Hypothenemus hampei. The bacterial community of this beetle’s gut has been well characterized, and is known to play a critical role in dietary toxin (caffeine) metabolism. The three synergistic aims of this project will advance the field’s understanding of the ecological and evolutionary contexts that shape interactions with the gut microbiome. Aim 1 will characterize the gut microbiome of H. hampei (including phage) using whole genome metagenomics complemented with culture based techniques. Aims 2 and 3 will use experimental evolution to disentangle the roles of microbial community, dietary toxins and insect host in shaping the structure and function of the gut microbiome. This project also aims to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in biology through goals that start at the individual level and expand to the broader scientific community, including scientific and professional training of early career scientists with underrepresented identities and facilitating training on conflict resolution using restorative justice techniques.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.

该行动资助了 2023 财年 NSF 生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生活在生物学中的代表性不足的群体的参与。在动物身上，它们为彼此及其宿主提供了基本的功能。群落结构（存在的微生物的类型和丰度）和功能是由微生物本身之间以及微生物之间的相互作用决定的。微生物及其宿主。饮食，尤其是咖啡因等饮食毒素，也有助于形成不同的群落结构，但微生物相互作用和饮食毒素在塑造群落中共同作用的方式尚不清楚，这些研究将有助于描述微生物群落的总体工作。肠道微生物组与其宿主之间的动态相互作用，并为我们对相互作用结果的理解增加了一个新的层面（膳食毒素的影响），这一新知识可以应用于人类健康环境，已知肠道微生物群落动态变化。影响该项目还将通过科学和专业培训扩大生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与和包容性。早期职业科学家，并利用恢复性司法技术促进解决冲突的培训。该项目将结合观察和实验研究，以更好地了解微生物群落的动态和膳食毒素对咖啡害虫肠道微生物群落结构和功能的影响，该甲虫肠道的细菌群落已被充分表征，并且已知在膳食毒素（咖啡因）代谢中发挥着关键作用，该项目的三个协同目标将促进该领域对生态和进化背景的理解。目标 1 将利用全基因组宏基因组学并辅以基于培养的技术来表征 H. hampei 的肠道微生物组（包括噬菌体）。目标 2 和 3 将利用实验进化来阐明微生物群落、膳食毒素和昆虫宿主在塑造肠道微生物组的结构和功能中的作用。该项目还旨在通过从以下目标开始，扩大代表性不足的群体在生物学中的参与。个人层面并扩展到更广泛的科学界，包括对代表性不足的早期职业科学家进行科学和专业培训，并促进使用恢复性司法技术解决冲突的培训。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为是值得的通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来提供支持。