BE/GEN-EN: Functional Genomics: Interactions Among Ecology, Population Biology and Gene Expression

摘要异交底鱼广泛分布于北美东部沿海的河口。该物种分布在栖息地空间异质性（即景观复杂性）有相当大变化的地区，以及具有世界上最陡峭的热脊之一的地区：每纬度约1.0摄氏度。该项目的目标是确定局部地区和陡峭的热斜带内的景观复杂性如何影响基因表达的全基因组模式。据推测，景观结构会影响种群大小、遗传结构、个体生长速度、寿命和迁移。这些参数反过来改变了自然选择的过程，从而影响了生物体适应当地条件的能力。该项目将测量这些生态和人口变量，并探索它们与基因表达模式的关系。田间采集种群的遗传杂交及其后代的实验室驯化将确定是生理诱导还是可遗传的遗传差异导致了基因表达的差异。全基因组的mRNA表达模式将通过F. heteroclitus微阵列进行量化。由于信使RNA的变异必须翻译成蛋白质浓度的变化才能产生表型变化，因此微阵列实验将辅以高通量蛋白质表达分析（蛋白质组学）。如果基因表达的变化是最重要的适应机制之一，本项目将检测与景观和热生态差异相关的基因表达的显著差异。本研究旨在探讨不同地理尺度下的生态因子如何影响异交金蝇的种群生物学和基因表达。

ABSTRACTThe fish Fundulus heteroclitus is widely distributed in estuaries along the eastern seacoast of North America. This species is found in areas where there is considerable variation in habitat spatial heterogeneity (i.e., landscape complexity) and in a region characterized by one of the world's steepest thermal clines: approximately 1.0 degree centigrade per degree of latitude. The goals of this project are to determinehow landscape complexity within a local region and along the steep thermal cline affect genome-wide patterns of gene expression. Landscape structure is hypothesized to affect population size and genetic structure, and individual growth rates, longevity, and migration. These parameters in turn alter the process of natural selection and thus affect an organism's ability to adapt to local conditions. This project will measure theseecological and population variables and explore their relationships to patterns of gene expression. Genetic crosses of field-collected populations, and laboratory acclimation of their progeny, will determine if physiological induction or heritable genetic differences are responsible for the differences in gene expression. Genome-wide patterns of mRNA expression will be quantified with F. heteroclitus microarrays. Because variation in messenger RNA must be translated into changes in protein concentration to produce a phenotypic change, microarray experiments will be complemented by high-throughput analyses of protein expression (proteomics). If variation in gene expression is one of the most important adaptive mechanisms, this project will detect significant differences in gene expression associated with differences in landscape and thermal ecology. This research will determine how ecological factors operating at diverse geographic scales affect the population biology and gene expression of F. heteroclitus.