CAREER: The Evolution of Simple Versus Complex Biomechanical Systems

职业：简单与复杂生物力学系统的演变

• 批准号: 0546423
• 负责人: Jeffrey Streelman
• 金额: $ 87.87万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-02-01 至 2013-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0546423&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Evolution; Simple; Versus; Complex

CAREER: The Evolution of Simple Versus Complex Biomechanical SystemsJeffrey Todd StreelmanGeorgia Institute of TechnologyUnderstanding complexity is a central goal of science. Advances in computation, physics, biology and engineering have engendered a set of design principles that characterize complex systems. Theoretically, systems as varied as the Internet, tropical rainforests, and the proteins within a cell are similarly organized. It has been suggested that complexity is an emergent property of these design principles and that highly complex systems are qualitatively different from simple ones. The distinction between complex and simple systems has been illustrated using biomechanical models that predict force and motion (or kinematic transmission, KT) in the oral jaws of bony fishes. Simple lever models of the lower jaw exhibit a one-to-one relationship between form and function; proportional differences in the lengths of component bones produce proportional differences in KT. By contrast, more complex models of anterior jaw mechanics (called 4-bar linkage systems) show a nonlinear, many-to-one mapping of form to function; multiply shaped 4-bar configurations yield the same KT. Knowledge of how form maps to function is a first step to understand how simple and complex biomechanical systems evolve, yet we know almost nothing about the genetic basis of these systems. This research plan fuses biomechanics and evolutionary genomics in cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi, East Africa to ask how complexity is wired into genomes and whether complex systems have genetic architectures that differ from simpler systems. Research involves post-docs, graduate students, undergraduates (in Biology and Engineering) and high school fellows. The education plan integrates research and teaching around the mechanics of cichlid jaws to foster far-reaching impact outside of the principal investigator's lab. This project will facilitate hands-on learning in math and science among public high school students and teachers from the city of Atlanta, and the general public through interactive exhibits at the Georgia Aquarium.

职业：简单与复杂生物力学系统的进化杰弗里·托德·斯特里尔乔治亚理工学院理解复杂性是科学的中心目标。计算、物理学、生物学和工程学的进步产生了一套复杂系统的设计原则。从理论上讲，像互联网、热带雨林和细胞内的蛋白质这样多种多样的系统都是相似的。有人认为复杂性是这些设计原则的一种自然属性，高度复杂的系统与简单的系统在本质上是不同的。复杂系统和简单系统之间的区别已经用生物力学模型来说明，这些模型可以预测硬骨鱼类口腔颌的力和运动（或运动传递，KT）。下颌的简单杠杆模型显示出形式和功能之间的一对一关系；组成骨长度的比例差异导致KT的比例差异。相比之下，更复杂的前颌骨力学模型（称为4杆联动系统）显示出一种非线性，多对一的形式到功能映射；多个形状的4杆结构产生相同的KT。了解形态图如何发挥作用是理解简单和复杂生物力学系统如何进化的第一步，但我们对这些系统的遗传基础几乎一无所知。这项研究计划将生物力学和进化基因组学融合在东非马拉维湖的丽鱼身上，以了解复杂性是如何与基因组联系在一起的，以及复杂系统是否具有不同于简单系统的遗传结构。研究人员包括博士后、研究生、本科生（生物和工程）和高中研究员。该教育计划将围绕慈鲷颌部力学的研究和教学结合起来，以在首席研究员的实验室之外培养深远的影响。该项目将通过乔治亚水族馆的互动展览，促进亚特兰大市公立高中学生和教师以及公众在数学和科学方面的实践学习。