NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Understanding gut microbiome variation in the context of an emerging wildlife pathogen

Brown, Bianca, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, 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. As evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging infectious diseases are a major threat to humans and animals. For wildlife, understanding how hosts respond to new diseases as they emerge has significant implications for species conservation. Given the role of the microbiome as an important factor that can protect and exacerbate response to infection, the Fellow will investigate pathogen-induced microbiome dynamics in the context of an emerging wildlife disease. The Fellow is committed to training underrepresented groups at the undergraduate and graduate levels from the US and South Africa to characterize pathogens and host microbiome interactions with the goal of preparing the next generation of scientists with the tools to understand and confront wildlife diseases. This proposal investigates interactions between the pathogen Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), and the gut microbiota in wild African buffalo as a model for understanding the consequences of pathogen-induced microbiome changes. bTB has a wasting effect that results in the emaciation of infected hosts as the disease progress. Thus, the Fellow will test the hypothesis that bTB affects the gut microbiome at both the individual host and population levels, and these changes influence host metabolism in ways that exacerbate the wasting effects of bTB. The Fellow will use a combination of field studies and experiments to characterize gut microbiome and host performance of wild buffalo before and during bTB infection under controlled and natural conditions. Both 16s rRNA and shotgun metagenomics sequencing will be used to characterize microbiome composition and function. Additionally, gas chromatography and in vitro-fertilization of microbes will be used to measure short-chain fatty acid and methane production, respectively. The proposal will address three aims: (i) identify and characterize gut microbiome changes during bTB infection, (ii) quantify host and gut microbiome metabolism in the context of bTB infection, and (iii) investigate whether bTB shapes the gut microbiome at the host population scale. Under the guidance of Drs. Vanessa Ezenwa and Todd Callaway, the Fellow will advance and expand research training in molecular and disease ecology and animal science; enhance communication skills through manuscript writing and teaching; and develop strong mentorship skills by training diverse cohorts of 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.