PurSUiT: Biodiversity exploration and phylogenetic systematics of the zoosporic fungal phylum Blastocladiomycota

追求：游动孢子真菌门芽生菌门的生物多样性探索和系统发育系统学

• 批准号: 2403677
• 负责人: Timothy James
• 金额: $ 93.18万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-05-01 至 2027-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2403677&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PurSUiT; Biodiversity; exploration; phylogenetic; systematics

Most of the biodiversity of fungi is poorly known largely because most fungal species are microscopic and uncultivatable, making them difficult to observe. However, emerging methods are removing these barriers and are allowing fungi to be studied by sequencing their DNA from individual cells without cultivation (single cell genomics). This project will focus on a group of aquatic fungi called Blastocladiomycota (blastoclads), a diverse group of fungi with unique life cycles and important ecological roles, including acting as pathogens to many insects, plants, and algae. By integrating single cell genomics and microscopic observations, this project will lead to the discovery of new species and taxonomic revision of five major blastoclad lineages, including Coelomomyces, a genus that has long been studied as a potential biocontrol agent of disease-vectoring mosquitoes. A better understanding of the biodiversity and genetics of the group and their ecological interactions can help in global preparedness for future infectious disease outbreaks and development of possible biocontrol agents. This project will involve training of a postdoctoral fellow and a graduate student, and will perform outreach through a workshop and a teaching module that focus on these fungi.This project aims to unite historical information on a group of fungi that has been heavily studied by traditional mycological approaches (microscopy, baiting, cultivation) with more modern molecular approaches that include genomics, single cell sequencing, and metagenomics. Collecting trips in Michigan and tropical/subtropical regions will be used to bait and isolate cultures and to collect tissues and specimens of pathogenic species for single cell sequencing. Genome sequencing of 30 taxa will be used to evaluate blastoclad diversity in a phylogenetic context. Several of the blastoclad genera are greatly in need of taxonomic revision. The project will focus on these genera, using a combined approach of morphology, DNA sequencing, and host range to determine appropriate species boundaries and describe new taxa. A final goal is to use environmental DNA approaches, such as metagenomics and metabarcoding to determine the extent of cryptic diversity of blastoclads, i.e., how many species are yet to be sampled, and to identify habitats that are particularly rich in blastoclad biodiversity. Together these approaches will provide a model for future biodiversity exploration in neglected groups of fungi.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.

大多数真菌的生物多样性鲜为人知，主要是因为大多数真菌物种都是微观的且不可培养，因此难以观察。然而，新兴方法正在消除这些障碍，并允许通过对单个细胞的 DNA 进行测序来研究真菌，而无需培养（单细胞基因组学）。该项目将重点关注一组称为芽囊菌门（blastoclads）的水生真菌，这是一组具有独特生命周期和重要生态作用的多样化真菌，包括充当许多昆虫、植物和藻类的病原体。通过整合单细胞基因组学和显微镜观察，该项目将导致新物种的发现和五个主要囊胚谱系的分类学修订，其中包括腔霉菌属，该属长期以来一直被研究为传播疾病的蚊子的潜在生物防治剂。更好地了解该群体的生物多样性和遗传学及其生态相互作用，有助于全球为未来传染病的爆发做好准备，并开发可能的生物防治剂。该项目将培训一名博士后研究员和一名研究生，并将通过以这些真菌为重点的研讨会和教学模块进行推广。该项目旨在整合传统方法深入研究的一组真菌的历史信息。真菌学方法（显微镜、诱饵、培养）与更现代的分子方法，包括基因组学、单细胞测序和宏基因组学。密歇根州和热带/亚热带地区的采集之旅将用于诱饵和分离培养物，并收集致病物种的组织和标本以进行单细胞测序。 30 个类群的基因组测序将用于评估系统发育背景下的囊胚多样性。几个囊胚属非常需要分类学修订。该项目将重点关注这些属，利用形态学、DNA 测序和宿主范围的综合方法来确定适当的物种边界并描述新的分类单元。最终目标是使用环境 DNA 方法，例如宏基因组学和宏条形码来确定囊胚的隐秘多样性程度，即有多少物种尚未采样，并确定囊胚生物多样性特别丰富的栖息地。这些方法将为未来在被忽视的真菌群体中进行生物多样性探索提供一个模型。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进行评估，被认为值得支持。