This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellow, Obed Hernández-Gómez, is conducting research and receiving training that is increasing the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow is being mentored by Erica Bree Rosenblum at the University of California-Berkeley. The fellow is exploring interactions between amphibian hosts, skin microbial communities, and pathogens. The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has decimated numerous populations of amphibians. Several bacteria living on the skin of amphibians produce anti-fungal chemicals that repress the growth of Bd. These bacteria can be used to treat/prevent infections by this pathogen, but it is unknown whether Bd can develop resistance to these bacteria over time. The fellow's research characterizes the skin microbiome of several amphibian species, to identify commonalities and differences in services provided by skin microbes. In addition, the fellow is evaluating whether repeated pressure from common anti-Bd bacteria induces evolutionary changes in Bd over generations. The project is generating knowledge on the long-term effect of microbial therapies on pathogen evolution, information that has applications in biomedical, agricultural, and wildlife conservation fields.
The major objective of this project is to characterize eco-evolutionary processes that link amphibian hosts, their cutaneous microbiomes, and the pathogen Bd. The research implements metagenomics sequencing to characterize cutaneous microbial communities of multiple amphibian species and identify generalities and inconsistencies in skin community functionality. In addition, the fellow is assessing whether repeated exposure to probiotics in-vitro invokes an adaptive response of Bd in serial passage experiments (SPEs), by characterizing the genome of Bd throughout the SPEs. The passaged strains are being used in inoculation experiments to measure whether prolonged exposure to anti-Bd probiotics leads to changes in virulence and interactions with cutaneous microbial communities. The fellow is being trained in laboratory techniques including implementation of SPEs, metagenomics/genome sequencing library preparation, bioinformatics, and inoculation experiments. The fellow is broadening the participation of underrepresented groups by working with English as a Second Language programs in the San Francisco Bay Area to develop a bilingual (Spanish/English) science curriculum in microbiological science. The curriculum introduces students to the scientific method under the scope of microbial ecology and will be published via the California Academy of Sciences.
