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

0502375行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，并利用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件。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大学的彼得·巴弗索特克教授和加州大学伯克利分校的整合基因组学中心附属机构、脊椎动物动物学博物馆馆长克雷格·莫里茨教授合作。鼠属原产于东南亚，是发展最快的生物之一，广泛分布于除南极洲以外的所有大陆。很少有生物与人类种群有如此多的接触和意义；家鼠是疾病、主要农作物害虫的关键媒介，也是生理、毒理学和医学研究的重要生物模型。像其他啮齿动物一样，鼠具有繁殖率，可能是所有啮齿动物中最容易种群扩张和入侵的物种。Rattus的本质是扩张和多样化。为了了解这种有机体的成功和传播，我们必须评估它的扩展、适应和多样化。这个项目调查了两个密切相关的澳大利亚鼠物种之间的种群扩张、适应性分化和生殖隔离(多样化)。澳大利亚是开始研究鼠属扩张的重要地点，因为它代表着东南亚地区靠近鼠起源的一个末端扩张点。该项目利用最近完成的褐家鼠基因组来评估由于最近澳大利亚两种鼠的扩张和生殖隔离而导致的遗传变化。对人类、小鼠和家鼠基因组的比较表明，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。澳大利亚家鼠最近的进化和分化提供了一个独特的机会，可以应用褐家鼠基因组中的基因组信息来解决基本的进化问题。巴弗斯托克教授是澳大利亚鼠进化的专家，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，并支持将这些信息传递给罗博士，这将成为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.