This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The Fellow studies marine invertebrates of the class Anthozoa, including reef-building corals and sea anemones, which are in imminent danger of extinction due to climate change. Anthozoans harbor photosynthetic algae within their body tissues and rely on the exchange of nutrients with these 'symbionts' for survival. As the acidity of seawater continues to increase (a phenomenon called ocean acidification) the fate of this essential relationship becomes increasingly uncertain. A better understanding of this biological association (or symbiosis) at the cellular level will help scientists create more sophisticated, and species-specific, conservation strategies. This proposal will develop cutting-edge cell biology techniques to study Anthozoan symbiosis and understand its susceptibility to ocean acidification. The research will use the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida; an organism that has demonstrated excellent potential for both cell biology research as well as science education. The Fellow will use Aiptasia to directly engage high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in climate change research.
Anthozoans communicate with their symbiotic algae through pH-dependent mechanisms. The master regulator of pH homeostasis in corals is the enzyme soluble Adenylyl Cyclase (sAC). However, the role of sAC-dependent signaling in symbiosis remains poorly defined. A recent technical breakthrough demonstrates that DNA and protein expression can be manipulated in Aiptasia pallida embryos. The Fellow will exploit this technical advance to investigate how sAC dynamically regulates pH homeostasis and symbiosis in Aiptasia. Specifically, this research will: 1. Perform the first in vitro characterization of Anthozoan sAC. 2. Use CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology to silence sAC gene expression and measure whether it is both necessary and sufficient for pH homeostasis and symbiosis. 3. Use FRET biosensor technology to measure the temporal and spatial dynamics of sAC signaling in live Aiptasia cells. This fellowship will provide new training for the Fellow in the fields of marine biology, symbiosis and microscopy. Data will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences. Broadening participation activities will include: research activities with freshman from a minority-serving public high school, summer research internships for high school minority women, and active recruitment of minority undergraduates to laboratory research positions. Educational materials will be shared through an open-access website.
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.
