
NSF Org: |
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | July 17, 2019 |
Latest Amendment Date: | August 19, 2021 |
Award Number: | 1856744 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Shin-Han Shiu
sshiu@nsf.gov (792)292-7989 IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
Start Date: | August 1, 2019 |
End Date: | July 31, 2024 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,768,277.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,768,277.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
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History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2221 UNIVERSITY AVE SE STE 100 MINNEAPOLIS MN US 55414-3074 (612)624-5599 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
1445 Gortner Avenue St. Paul MN US 55108-1095 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | Plant Genome Research Project |
Primary Program Source: |
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Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
The plants and animals we see around us, including agriculturally important crop plants, live in close association with millions of microorganisms (microbes). Some of these microbes cause disease but others are beneficial. Identifying the genes and genetic pathways that determine the outcome of host-microbe associations provides targets for manipulating them for human benefit. This project uses an innovative approach based on high-throughput genome sequencing to efficiently identify bacterial and host genes that shape the outcome of host-microbe associations. The new methods are being deployed on one of the most important plant-microbe associations, that between leguminous plants (soybeans, beans, peas, alfalfa) and rhizobial bacteria. When rhizobia grow in association with these plants, they convert atmospheric nitrogen into a plant useable form, thereby "feeding" the plant and lessening the need for nitrogen fertilizer. The results will provide new empirical tools that advance how we study these systems and the identification of genes and bacterial strains that can be exploited to increase the benefits rhizobial bacteria provide in agricultural systems. Teams of student writers and designers, as well as local high school teachers, will be actively involved in the project to communicate the results using print, graphics, and animation.
The symbiosis between leguminous plants and rhizobial bacteria is a classic system for understanding how plant and microbial genomes function in a coordinated manner. The benefits of host-rhizobia interactions depend on genomic variation found in both partners (i.e. inter-genome or genome-by-genome variation). Neither the reasons for nor the consequences of this inter-genome variation are well understood. Moreover, very little is known about the genetic basis of genome by genome variation in this, or any other, host-microbe system. The research under this award will fill this void through a novel two-species genotype-phenotype association study, two-species co-expression networks, and functional validation of candidate genes. A similar approach will be used to evaluate the inter-genome variation between Medicago and Aphanomyces, an economically important pathogen. The data and code used for analyses will be made available in a timely manner through public data repositories. Analyses of these data will uncover, in unprecedented detail, the genetic basis and mechanisms responsible for variation in inter-genome effects on phenotype in host-symbiont and host-pathogen systems. To extend the reach of the project and actively disseminate the results, students from other disciplines (such as writers and graphic designers) will develop new communication materials that will be used in local high school curricula.
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.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The plants and animals we see live in close relationships with microbes (organisms that are too small for us to see without a microscope). Most of these microbes have no effect on plant or animal health or growth, some cause disease, and a few are mutualists that promote plant growth and animal health. Understanding mutualisms not only provides insight into how plants regulate the bacteria that live with them but also may provide tools we can use to manipulate them for our benefit.
One of the most important plant-bacteria mutualism occurs between legume plants (beans, peas, alfalfa) and Sinorhizobia bacteria; when living inside of the plant Sinorhizobia bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form the plants can use as fertilizer, a process known as nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation can greatly limit the need for nitrogen fertilizers in agricultural settings. The overall objective of this project was to identify which plant and which bacteria genes determine the amount of nitrogen fixation, and thus the net benefit, that benefits that plants obtain from these mutualistic bacteria.
Using an innovative experimental approach and genomic analyses, we replicated earlier work showing that variation among bacterial strains has important consequences for the outcome of legume-bacteria mutualism and we also identified genes in both plants and in bacteria that are directly involved in the benefits host-specific benefits. These genes provide insight into the mechanisms plants use to regulate the microbes that live with them. These genes also provide candidates that could be targeted by genomic manipulation to improve nitrogen fixation in agricultural crops. We also applied our experimental approach to a plant (corn) -pathogen system to learn more about the importance of strain variation in the outcomes of plant disease.
We communicated our findings to other researchers through presentations at scientific conferences and workshops and through publications in peer-reviewed journals. We made all the data we collected for this project publicly available.
Beyond advancing our understanding of the genetics of plant-bacteria mutualisms, our project supported training opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and advanced researchers (postdoctoral scholars). All trainees learned more about science. Several of them have gone on to science-based jobs in the private sector, academic positions, or further education in science. We also collaborated with a high school teacher to develop hands-on science activities for high school students, and we participated in community activities that promote science and science education.
Last Modified: 10/01/2024
Modified by: Peter L Tiffin
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