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

异基底鱼广泛分布于北美东部海岸沿着的河口。该物种分布于栖息地空间异质性变化较大的地区（即，该地区是世界上温度梯度最陡的地区之一：大约每纬度1摄氏度。本项目的目标是确定局部区域内和沿着陡峭的热跃层的景观复杂性如何影响基因表达的全基因组模式。景观结构被假设影响种群规模和遗传结构，以及个体的生长率，寿命和迁移。这些参数反过来又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。这个项目将测量这些生态和种群变量，并探索它们与基因表达模式的关系。田间采集的种群的遗传杂交及其后代的实验室驯化将确定生理诱导或可遗传的遗传差异是否是基因表达差异的原因。 全基因组范围的mRNA表达模式将用F. heteroclitus微阵列由于信使RNA的变异必须转化为蛋白质浓度的变化才能产生表型变化，因此微阵列实验将通过蛋白质表达的高通量分析（蛋白质组学）来补充。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着差异。这项研究将确定在不同的地理尺度上生态因子如何影响种群生物学和基因表达。异基

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.