UWCollegeofAgricultureandNaturalResources

GlobalPerspectivesGrantProgramProjectReportInstructions

AbriefwrittenreportmustbesubmittedelectronicallytotheAESofficewithinonemonthofreturningfromyourtrip.Photographssupplementingthereportareencouragedandareappreciatedbythedonor.FailuretosubmitareportmayjeopardizefuturefundingfromAES.Inadditiontoforwardingthesereportstoourbenefactor,reportswillalsobepublishedontheAESwebsite.ReportsmustbewritteninastyleunderstandablebythelaypersonandmaybeeditedforreadabilitybeforebeingpublishedtotheAESwebsiteandintheUniversityofWyomingFoundationreport.Format:Use12pointtype,singlelinespacing,andoneinchmargins.Submityourreporttoaes@uwyo.eduasaPDFfile.Includethefollowinginformation:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.COVERPAGEAwardPeriod(e.g.Spring2012):__Spring2015_____________________PrincipleInvestigator(s)_NaomiWard__Department:_MolecularBiology/Botany_Email:_nlward@uwyo.edu_______________ProjectTitlefromApplication:__BuildingU.S.-EuropeanCollaborativePVCResearch________Amountspent:___$3137_____________________Non-technicalsummary(max1500charactersplusspaces):Provideaoneparagraphnon-technicalsummarythatmostpeoplecanunderstand.PVC (Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae) bacteria are a group of emergingagricultural/ecological,medical,andbiotechnologicalimportance.DuetotherecentretirementofUSresearchers,thecurrentstrengthofthefieldliesinEurope.Inordertore-buildtheUSPVCresearchcommunity, it isessential forUSresearchers toestablishandmaintaincollaborativerelationshipswiththeirEuropeancounterparts.ThescienceobjectivesofthisGlobalPerspectives-fundedprojectweretodevelopacloserworkingrelationshipbetweenmyresearchgroupandthegroupofDamienDevos(Spain),andtoconductintensivecollaborativewriting(researchproposalsandpapers).Wehavemettheseobjectivesthroughwritingandsubmissionoftwoproposalstotwofundingagenciesin2015.Bothproposalswereselected,basedonscientificmerit,toadvanceto full proposal submission. Neither proposal was funded in the first round, but we areresubmitting revisedproposals in2016. In themeantime,wehaveusedexisting resources toestablishacollaborativeresearchproject;thefirstoriginalresearchmanuscriptarisingfromthiscollaboration is inpreparationandwill be submitted Summer, 2016. The internationalizationobjectives included raising awareness at CABD (the Spanish host institute) of research andeducationopportunitiesintheUWDepartmentofMolecularBiology(CollegeofAgriculture).Thisobjective wasmet through delivery of two invited research seminars by the PI (Ward), anddiscussionoftheinterdisciplinaryUWMCLSPhDprogramwithSpanishstudents.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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2.REPORT:Mainresultsofactivitiesplannedintheproposal

ResearchOutcomes.ThePIspent10daysvisitingthe research group of Dr DamienDevos (CABD,Sevilla,Spain;seepictureatleft)inJanuary,2015.DrDevossetasidethistimetoworkcollaborativelywith Dr Ward on proposal development. ThisresultedinsubmissionofapreproposaltotheU.S.National Science Foundation (NSF) during DrWard's visit. Based on its scientific merit, theproposal was later selected to advance to fullproposal stage, which occurs with only 25% ofproposals submitted to this program. The fullproposal was submitted in August, 2015. Itreceivedpositivereviewsbutwasnotselectedforfunding.Duringthevisit,DrsWardandDevosalso

preparedaproposalfortheinternationalHumanFrontiersinScienceProgram(HFSP),whichwassubmitted in March 2015. This proposal also advanced to the full-proposal stage, but waseventuallydeclined.Theproposalsalsoinvolvedcross-collegeinterdisciplinarycollaborationswithtwootherUWfacultywhoparticipatedasCo-PIs:DrFrancoBasile(Chemistry)andDrHarveyHix(Philosophy;CreativeWritingprogram).DrHixcontributedBroaderImpactsaspectsoftheNSFproposal.TheprojectforwhichthesetwofundingattemptsweremadeconcernsthepresenceofsterolsinthePVCbacteria.Sterolsareessentialcomponentsofalleukaryoticcells(foundine.g.,humans,animals,plants,andfungi).Althoughbacteriapossesstheirownsterol-likemolecules(hopanoids),afewbacterialspeciesalsoproducesterols,forreasonsthatarenotunderstood.Thissuggestsevolutionofcompletelynovel sterol-associated functions.Theoverall goalofourprojectistodeterminethefunctionalroleandevolutionaryoriginofsterolsinPVCbacteria.Mostofourworkisdoneinthe PVC speciesGemmata obscuriglobus (see picture atright),theonlybacteriuminwhichsterolsareknowntobeessential.Despite initial difficulties in securing funding, theWard,Devos,andBasilegroupshavecontinuedtoworkonthisproject, based on the strong collaborative relationshipdevelopedasaresultoftheGlobalPerspectivesfunding.ThishascontributedtothetrainingofaUWPhDstudent(EkaterinaGottshall;MolecularandCellular Life SciencesPhD, graduated Spring 2015), a CABD graduate student(Juan-CarlosGonzalez),severalconferencepresentations,

Gemmata obscuriglobus, is the only bacterial species in which sterols are essential. We hypothesize that they contribute to the complex membranes that subdivide this cell. (Gottshall et al., 2014; PNAS)

Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD; the Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology), in Sevilla, Spain. The CABD was created in 2003 as the first Developmental Biology Institute in Spain. (www.csic.es) The centre is jointly funded by the Spanish Research Council CSIC, the Andalusian Regional Government Junta de Andalucia, and the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO) in Seville.

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andacollaborativeoriginalresearchpaperthatiscurrentlyinpreparationandwillbesubmittedSummer,2016.Additionally,threeadditionalgrantproposalshavebeensubmitted,strengthenedbypreliminarydataobtainedfromtheproject in2015/2016.These includeresubmissionofapreproposaltotheNSFinJanuary2016,andsubmissionofafullR01proposaltotheU.S.NationalInstitutesofHealthinFebruary2016.Lastly,theprojectwasselectedbytheUWOfficeofResearchandEconomicDevelopmentasoneoftwoUWproposalstotheU.S.-basedKeckFoundation;PhaseIsubmissionwascompletedinApril,2016.Education/internationalizationoutcomes.ThePIhasraisedawarenessatCABDofresearchandeducationopportunitiesintheUWDepartmentofMolecularBiology(CollegeofAgriculture),firstlythroughdeliveryoftwoinvitedresearchseminars.WiththehelpofherSpanishcoordinator,shealsohelddiscussionswithSpanishstudents(fromtheUniversidaddePabloOlavide(UPO),withwhichtheCABDisaffiilatied)abouttheinterdisciplinaryUWMCLSPhDprogram.Subsequently,althoughtherehavebeenexpressionsofinterestintheMCLSprogramfromUPOstudents,therehavebeennoformalapplicationstotheprogram.ThePIandhercollaboratorwillcontinuetopromotetheprograminSevilla.Lastly, thecollaborativevisit ledtothePI'sparticipationasakeynotespeakerinaPVCresearchconferenceheldJune,2015inCarmona,Spain,organizedbyDrDevos.Futureplans.Beyondsubmissionofthefirstoriginalresearchpaper,thecollaborationestablishedwithGlobalPerspectivessupportwillcontinue,asbothgroupsexpandtheirfocusonbacterialsterolsfromGemmataobscuriglobustoothermembersofthePVCgroup.TheDevosgroupisemploying their expertise in computational biology to predict active sterol synthesis in PVCmembers,andtheWardgroupistestingthesepredictionsinthelab.ThisworkisbeingcarriedoutbySeanStettner,anewMCLSPhDstudentintheWardgroup.Itisanticipatedthatthecontinuingcollaborationwill leadtoatleastoneadditionalpeer-reviewedpaper.Ourattemptstosecurefundingfortheprojectwillalsocontinue.Potentialimpacts.Ourmajorprojectgoalofsecuringgrantfundingforourresearchcollaborationalignswithoneof the identified strengthsof theCollege,namelya strongethicofattractingoutsidefundstosupportresearch.Additionally,ourtrainingoftwoPhDstudentstodate,andtheinclusionofgraduatestudentrecruitmentactivitiesinthe2015visit,supporttheCollege’sfocusonmaintainingandenhancingtheproductionofPhD-levelscholars.TheprojectiscontributingtointernationalizationatUWbyestablishinganewinternationalcollaborativeresearchpartnership;attempting to secure external fundingwhichwill lead to inter-institutional partnerships; andpotentiallyrecruitingSpanishgraduatestudentstotheMolecularandCellularLifeSciencesPhDprogram.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------QUESTIONS?ContactJoanneNewcombintheAgriculturalExperimentStationofficeataes@uwyo.eduor(307)766-3667.