The long-term objectives of the proposed research are to understand the dynamic stability characterizing the normal human microbiota and its beneficial activities. To achieve this goal requires a clear understanding of how these essential microbial communities form, how they function, and what maintains them in the face of natural and artificial perturbations. To help discover the rules underlying the complex interactions between the hundreds or thousands of microbial species present in and on the human body, scientists use simple model systems to provide a window into the fundamental principles by which different bacteria function together and with their host. One such model system is the light-organ symbiosis between a bioluminescent marine bacterium and its squid host. This highly specific symbiosis consists of only one bacterial species, but there are several distinct strains present in the symbiotic population in each animal. Understanding the rules by which these different strains interact will provide a foundation for understanding the way different species for healthy, stable communities in the human body.
The specific aims of the proposed research are to (i) determine the natural trajectory the symbiotic population over the life of the host, (ii) determine the ways the population resists invasion by other bacteria, and (ii) determine how the symbiosis protects itself against 'cheaters', members that take resources from the rest of the population without contributing to symbiotic functions.
These aims will be achieved by a combination of approaches including construction of bacterial mutants and following their colonization of the host by specific fluorescence imaging, raising juvenile hosts with specific symbiotic partners into adulthood, and modeling the population dynamics of the light organs by computational means. The results of this study will be made available to human microbiome researchers, who will be able to use the rules discovered here to better focus their studies of maintaining a healthy state in the complex sets of populations making up the microbial communities in the gut tract, the oral cavity, the skin and elsewhere on the body.

Public Health Relevance

The importance of the human microbiota to health has become increasingly recognized, yet far less is known about our interaction with these beneficial microbes then with microbial pathogens. The proposed research will discover the ecological principles by which the diverse populations that make up these beneficial communities form and persist despite perturbations like fasting, antibiotic therapy and microbial invasions.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01GM099507-05
Application #
9091388
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZGM1-GDB-2 (MC))
Program Officer
Sledjeski, Darren D
Project Start
2012-02-06
Project End
2016-01-31
Budget Start
2015-07-07
Budget End
2016-01-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$205,175
Indirect Cost
$60,175
Name
University of Hawaii
Department
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
965088057
City
Honolulu
State
HI
Country
United States
Zip Code
96822
Bongrand, Clotilde; Ruby, Edward G (2018) Achieving a multi-strain symbiosis: strain behavior and infection dynamics. ISME J :
Aschtgen, Marie-Stephanie; Wetzel, Keith; Goldman, William et al. (2016) Vibrio fischeri-derived outer membrane vesicles trigger host development. Cell Microbiol 18:488-99
Aschtgen, Marie-Stephanie; Lynch, Jonathan B; Koch, Eric et al. (2016) Rotation of Vibrio fischeri Flagella Produces Outer Membrane Vesicles That Induce Host Development. J Bacteriol 198:2156-65
Schwartzman, Julia A; Ruby, Edward G (2016) Stress as a Normal Cue in the Symbiotic Environment. Trends Microbiol 24:414-424
Schwartzman, Julia A; Ruby, Edward G (2016) A conserved chemical dialog of mutualism: lessons from squid and vibrio. Microbes Infect 18:1-10
Bongrand, Clotilde; Koch, Eric J; Moriano-Gutierrez, Silvia et al. (2016) A genomic comparison of 13 symbiotic Vibrio fischeri isolates from the perspective of their host source and colonization behavior. ISME J 10:2907-2917
Schwartzman, Julia A; Koch, Eric; Heath-Heckman, Elizabeth A C et al. (2015) The chemistry of negotiation: rhythmic, glycan-driven acidification in a symbiotic conversation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:566-71
Studer, Sarah V; Schwartzman, Julia A; Ho, Jessica S et al. (2014) Non-native acylated homoserine lactones reveal that LuxIR quorum sensing promotes symbiont stability. Environ Microbiol 16:2623-2634
Miyashiro, Tim; Oehlert, Dane; Ray, Valerie A et al. (2014) The putative oligosaccharide translocase SypK connects biofilm formation with quorum signaling in Vibrio fischeri. Microbiologyopen 3:836-48
Koch, Eric J; Miyashiro, Tim; McFall-Ngai, Margaret J et al. (2014) Features governing symbiont persistence in the squid-vibrio association. Mol Ecol 23:1624-34

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