Investigating 'cross-talk' between pathogenic Vibrio and phytoplankton, and implications for human health under climate change.(Ref:4297)

研究致病性弧菌和浮游植物之间的“串扰”，以及气候变化对人类健康的影响。（参考文献：4297）

• 批准号: 2699012
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2699012
• 关键词: Investigating; cross; talk; between; pathogenic

Communication amongst humans allows us to live together in societies. Breakdowns in communication can lead to conflicts and a breakdown of society's structures. However, communication is not limited to humans. Chemical cues and signals, collectively called infochemicals (Fig. 1), are widely used by organisms living on land and sea to communicate between individuals within a species or between different species. For example, albatrosses use a simple chemical cue called DMS (dimethyl sulphide) to track highly productive areas where they forage on zooplankton, squid, fish, and even other birds!We know from terrestrial ecosystems that climate change stressors such as warming can alter the production and composition of infochemicals with profound negative effects on natural ecosystems. Although this chemical communication currently works well in the ocean, we do not know how marine organisms will communicate under climate change!Phytoplankton, the producers of 50% oxygen we breathe, also use infochemicals to 'talk' to other organisms like microbes, including pathogens such as Vibrio which can be either deterred or attracted towards phytoplankton. Several Vibrio species are human pathogens known to cause waterborne diseases, e.g. Vibrio cholerae responsible for cholera. Climate change is predicted to escalate this problem, posing increased threat to human health.In this project you will conduct a novel set of experiments underpinning phytoplankton-Vibrio relationships mediated by infochemicals, and explore how climate change induced stressors such as temperature, salinity and precipitation might change phytoplankton-Vibrio interactions. Results will enable us to understand dynamics of phytoplankton-pathogenic marine bacteria interaction, in particular microbes such as Vibrios that represent an emerging disease threat in Europe and other higher latitudes, driven by climate change.Project Aims and Methods:The chemically enriched phycosphere (Fig 2), the microscale mucous region enveloping phytoplankton cells, represents the marketplace where interactions between algae and other organisms are controlled by exuded chemicals. In this PhD, you will undertake pioneering research to establish how the association of Vibrio with phytoplankton are controlled by infochemicals. You will work at the interface of ecology, microbiology, chemistry, physiology and climate change research investigating novel questions such as (i) which infochemicals enable positive and negative 'cross-talk' of phytoplankton with selected Vibrio species; (ii) how the entire chemical landscape appears during such associations; and (iii) how such association changes in response to climate-change-induced stressors.You will work in a highly interdisciplinary international team (UK and Germany) and use different advanced techniques to isolate anti- and pro-Vibrio compounds from phytoplankton cultures and will be trained to use different spectroscopy methods. You will collaborate with Georg Pohnert (Max Plank Institute of Chemical Ecology, Germany) to use latest 'omics' techniques such as untargeted whole cell and single cell metabolomics. You will also perform laboratory incubations to quantify the effect of stressors such as mean temperature rise on the Vibrio-phytoplankton association. Data will be analyzed using multivariate statistics. You will be allowed freedom and flexibility to modify the project design and direction, depending on your interests and skills, within the broad scope of the project's aims.

人类之间的交流使我们能够在社会中共同生活。沟通障碍可能导致冲突和社会结构的崩溃。然而，沟通并不局限于人类。化学线索和信号统称为信息化学物质（图 1），广泛被陆地和海洋生物体用来在物种内的个体之间或不同物种之间进行交流。例如，信天翁使用一种称为 DMS（二甲基硫醚）的简单化学线索来追踪它们以浮游动物、鱿鱼、鱼类甚至其他鸟类为食的高产区域！我们从陆地生态系统中知道，气候变化压力因素（例如变暖）可以改变对自然生态系统产生深远负面影响的信息化学品的生产和成分。虽然这种化学通讯目前在海洋中运作良好，但我们不知道在气候变化下海洋生物将如何通讯！浮游植物是我们呼吸的 50% 氧气的生产者，它们也使用信息化学物质与微生物等其他生物体“对话”，包括病原体例如弧菌，它可以阻止或吸引浮游植物。几种弧菌属已知可引起水传播疾病的人类病原体，例如弧菌。霍乱弧菌是霍乱的罪魁祸首。气候变化预计会使这个问题升级，对人类健康构成更大的威胁。在这个项目中，您将进行一组新颖的实验，以支持由信息化学物质介导的浮游植物-弧菌关系，并探索气候变化如何引起温度、盐度和降水等压力源可能会改变浮游植物与弧菌的相互作用。结果将使我们能够了解浮游植物与致病性海洋细菌相互作用的动态，特别是弧菌等微生物，它们在气候变化的驱动下，在欧洲和其他高纬度地区代表了新出现的疾病威胁。项目目标和方法：化学富集的藻圈（图2），包围浮游植物细胞的微型粘液区域，代表了藻类和其他生物之间的相互作用由渗出的化学物质控制的市场。在这个博士学位中，您将进行开拓性研究，以确定信息化学物质如何控制弧菌与浮游植物的关联。您将从事生态学、微生物学、化学、生理学和气候变化研究的交叉领域工作，调查新问题，例如（i）哪些信息化学物质能够使浮游植物与选定的弧菌物种进行积极和消极的“串扰”； (ii) 在此类关联期间整个化学景观如何呈现；您将在一个高度跨学科的国际团队（英国和德国）中工作，并使用不同的先进技术从浮游植物培养物中分离出抗弧菌和亲弧菌化合物，并将接受培训以使用不同的光谱方法。您将与 Georg Pohnert（德国马克斯普朗克化学生态研究所）合作，使用最新的“组学”技术，例如非靶向全细胞和单细胞代谢组学。您还将进行实验室孵化，以量化压力源的影响，例如平均温升对弧菌-浮游植物关联的影响。将使用多元统计分析数据。您将被允许在项目目标的广泛范围内根据您的兴趣和技能自由灵活地修改项目设计和方向。