International Research Fellowship Program: Adaptive Divergence and Demographic History: Population Genomics of Australian Rattus

国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行三到二十四个月的研究。 该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，以及使用独特或互补的设施，专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将支持凯文罗博士为期22个月的研究奖学金，他将与澳大利亚新南威尔士州南十字星大学的Peter Baversotck教授和克雷格莫里茨教授合作，他是脊椎动物学博物馆的馆长，也是加州大学伯克利分校综合基因组学中心的附属机构。 鼠属起源于东南亚，是扩张最快的生物之一，广泛分布于除南极洲以外的各大洲。 很少有生物与人类有如此多的接触和重要性;老鼠是疾病的关键载体，主要作物害虫，以及生理学，毒理学和医学研究的重要生物模型。 像其他啮齿类动物一样，家鼠具有多产的繁殖率，并且可能是所有啮齿类动物中最容易种群扩张和入侵的。Rattus的本质是扩张和多样化。 为了了解这种生物的成功和传播，我们必须评估它的扩张，适应和多样化。 该项目调查了两个密切相关的澳大利亚家鼠物种之间的种群扩张，适应性分歧和生殖隔离（多样化）。 澳大利亚是一个重要的位置，开始调查属的扩展，因为它代表了一个终端扩展点附近的原产地在东南亚的鼠。 该项目利用最近完成的褐家鼠基因组，以评估遗传变化所造成的最近扩张和生殖隔离的两种鼠在澳大利亚。 人类、小鼠和老鼠的基因组的比较表明，蛋白质序列中的绝大多数功能差异仅限于免疫蛋白、毒性蛋白和嗅觉/气味蛋白。 最近的进化和分歧，澳大利亚的家鼠提供了一个独特的机会，应用基因组信息从褐家鼠基因组，以解决基本的进化问题。 巴弗斯托克教授是研究澳大利亚家鼠进化的专家，特别是生殖隔离的遗传基础。莫里茨教授为基因组分析提供了广泛的计算技能和先进的基础设施。 因此，该项目促进了这些杰出科学家之间的思想交流，并支持将这些信息转移给罗博士，这将是他在美国学术生涯的基础。

0502375RoweThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-two-month research fellowship by Dr. Kevin Rowe, who will collaborate with Prof. Peter Baversotck at Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia and Prof. Craig Moritz, director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and affiliate of the Center for Integrative Genomics at the University of California, Berkeley. The genus Rattus, originating in Southeast Asia, is one the fastest expanding organisms and is widespread throughout every continent except Antarctica. Few organisms have as much contact with and significance to human populations; Rattus are critical vectors for disease, major crop pests, and important biological models for physiological, toxicological and medical studies. Like other rodents, Rattus have prolific reproductive rates, and have perhaps the greatest propensity for population expansion and invasion of any rodent. The nature of Rattus is one of expansion and diversification. To understand the success and spread of this organism we must evaluate its expansions, adaptations and diversification. This project investigates population expansions, adaptive divergence, and reproductive isolation (diversification) among two closely related Australian Rattus species. Australia is an important location to begin the investigation of the expansions of the genus Rattus as it represents a terminal expansion point near the origin of Rattus in Southeast Asia. This project utilizes the recently completed genome of Rattus norvegicus to evaluate genetic changes resulting from the recent expansion and reproductive isolation of two species of Rattus in Australia. Comparisons of the genomes of humans, Mus (mouse), and Rattus, demonstrate that the vast majority of functional differences in protein sequences are limited to immunological proteins, toxicity proteins, and olfactory/odorant proteins. The recent evolution and divergence of Australian Rattus provide a unique opportunity to apply genomic information from the Rattus norvegicus genome to address fundamental evolutionary questions. Prof. Baverstock is expert on the evolution of Australian Rattus, particularly the genetic basis of reproductive isolation. Prof. Moritz provides extensive computational skills and advanced infrastructure for genomic analyses. Thus, this project fosters the exchange of ideas between these distinguished scientists and supports transfer of this information to Dr. Rowe that will be the foundation for his academic career in the United States.