NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Quantifying diversity and climate change response in the Chamaecrista fasciculata-rhizobial symbiosis

Pennington, Lillie K, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

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. Plants will either need to adapt to changing climates or risk extinction. Research has shown that there is potential for the symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationships between plants and microbes to mitigate the effects of climate change. The project will test this idea by studying the symbiotic relationship between bacteria that capture nitrogen from the air and pea plants. The bacteria supply the plants with nitrogen and receive other nutrients in return. Understanding how climate change impacts this relationship has broad implications, as there are many important wild and crop pea species, like peanuts or beans. The results of this project will be shared with conservation managers of these important plant species. This work will be done in part with undergraduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and high school students from nearby schools as a part of existing programming at the University of Georgia, to expand access to research and academia to students from underrepresented communities. To evaluate the consequences of climate change for plant-microbial interactions, the fellow will leverage the ecological model legume Chamaecrista fasciculata, the partridge pea, and its associated rhizobial bacteria. The fellow will first collect rhizobial bacteria from populations across the range of the partridge pea to characterize how rhizobial communities assemble across an environmental gradient. Then, the fellow will grow plants in manipulated conditions to evaluate the consequences of elevated temperatures for the plant-rhizobial symbiosis. Finally, the fellow will sample nodule rhizobial communities and plant genotypes across a latitudinal gradient and conduct a reciprocal transplant experiment to test for local adaptation and quantify the interaction of rhizobial and plant response to climate change. The fellow will receive training in metagenomic analysis techniques as well as in large-scale project management and student mentorship. These projects will provide insights into the degree to which rhizobia could mitigate the effects of climate change, and how range position affects these symbiotic relationships. The research will have an impact on broadening participation by involving students from HBCUs and local high schools. 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.