Testing the role of microbial distribution and functional traits in the ecology and evolution of symbiosis

测试微生物分布和功能特征在生态和共生进化中的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2021-03160
• 负责人: Parfrey, Laura
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=742406
• 关键词: Testing; role; microbial; distribution; functional

All large hosts, including seaweeds, plants, and animals are colonized by microbial symbionts, and these symbionts collectively make up a huge portion of biodiversity. Symbionts contribute to host metabolism, defend against pathogens, and even change the way hosts grow and develop. Symbionts can have positive, negative, or neutral interactions with the host, and these outcomes often depend on environmental context. There can be many symbionts that play critical roles in the health and biology of a given host species over time and across populations. Functions are maintained amidst this rotating cast of symbionts by functional redundancy: many microbes can fulfill a functional role. We know that symbiont communities are influenced by the environment and will change with ongoing environmental change. But we cannot predict what altered communities will look like, or the consequences to their hosts. The proposed research seeks to fill in this knowledge gap. In order to tackle this overarching question, we need a better understanding of symbiont distributions, the factors that cause microbes to associate with hosts, the stability of symbiotic relationships over time, and the relationship between symbiont distribution and function. My group will achieve these goals by: 1. Mapping the distribution of seaweed symbionts, and their functions, across environments to determine host specificity. 2. Develop sugar kelp into a model system for studying symbiosis in the lab. We will develop a library of cultured isolates of microbes, including microbes from general marine environments and those specific to sugar kelp. We will test the hypothesis that specific symbionts play larger functional roles in host biology. This system also enables testing hypotheses on function and/or environmental influence that arise from the other objectives. 3. We will investigate the stability of symbionts and their functions in the face of changing environmental conditions at both the population and individual level. The proposed work will also contribute to the training of 16 HQP from diverse backgrounds. The proposed work contributes to our knowledge of microbial diversity in general and the factors that shape microbial communities.  Understanding the factors that structure symbiont communities will enable fields ranging from human health, to agriculture and aquaculture to develop tools harnessing the power of the microbiome, and in addition to shedding light on the natural history of this vast part of our biosphere.

包括海藻，植物和动物在内的所有大型寄主均由微生物符号定植，这些符号共同构成了生物多样性的很大一部分。共生体有助于宿主新陈代谢，防御病原体，甚至改变托管的成长方式。共生体可以与宿主有正面，负或中性的相互作用，这些结果通常取决于环境环境。随着时间的流逝，可能有许多符号在给定宿主物种的健康和生物学中起关键作用。通过功能冗余的旋转符号旋转铸件保持函数：许多微生物可以填补功能作用。我们知道象征性社区受环境的影响，并会随着环境变化而变化。但是我们无法预测社区的外观会是什么样，或者对他们的主人的后果。拟议的研究试图填补这一知识差距。为了解决这个总体问题，我们需要更好地了解符号分布，导致微生物与宿主相关的因素，随着时间的推移随着时间的流逝的稳定性以及共生分布与功能之间的关系。我的小组将通过以下方式实现这些目标：1。绘制海藻符号的分布及其功能，以确定宿主特异性。 2。将糖海带开发到模型系统中，我们将开发一个培养的微生物分离株，包括一般海洋环境的微生物和特定于糖海带的微生物。我们将检验以下假设：特定符号在宿主生物学中起更大的功能作用。该系统还可以对其他目标产生的功能和/或环境影响的假设进行测试。 3。我们将在人口和个人层面上不断变化的环境条件下研究符号及其功能的稳定性。拟议的工作还将有助于从不同背景的16个HQP培训。提出的工作有助于我们对一般微生物多样性的了解以及塑造微生物群落的因素。了解结构象征主义社区的因素将使从人类健康到农业和水产养殖的领域来开发利用微生物组的力量的工具，除了阐明我们生物圈的自然历史之外。