Environmental Genomics in an Antarctic polychaete

基因组生物学为理解生物-环境相互作用的遗传基础提供了基础。。该研究项目将基因表达、基因组甲基化和代谢率联系起来，以评估极地和密切相关的温带多毛类多代环境适应(温度)的机制。通过比较这两个物种，这项研究将评估极地环境如何塑造对环境压力的反应。这项工作将产生：1)在两种温度下培养的极地多毛类的完整转录组(基因特异性)图谱数据的数据库；2)基因组甲基化对抑制基因转录活动的贡献；3)mRNA库和总细胞活动(如通过呼吸消耗的ATP)之间的联系；4)对基因表达和代谢活动模式在三代之间的遗传的评估；以及5)在正常和全球变暖的温度情景下极地多毛类种群动态的简单人口统计学模型。更广泛的影响包括两项外联活动。第一个是导师计划，非裔美国本科生花1.5年的时间与加州大学的一名教职员工一起做一个研究项目(两个暑假加上他们的高年级学年)。第二个是UD？S海洋科学学院举办的儿童展示活动《海岸日》。

Genome-enabled biology provides a foundation for understanding the genetic basis of organism-environment interactions. . The research project links gene expression, genome methylation, and metabolic rates to assess the mechanisms of environmental adaptation (temperature) across multiple generations in a polar, and closely related temperate, polychaete. By comparing these two species, the research will assess how a polar environment shapes responses to environmental stress. This work will produce: 1) a database of full transcriptome (gene specific) profiling data for the polar polychaete cultured at two temperatures; 2) the contribution of genome methylation to the suppression of gene transcription activities; 3) the linkage between shifts in mRNA pools and total cellular activities (as ATP consumption via respiration); 4) an assessment of the inheritance of patterns of gene expression and metabolic activities across three generations; and 5) a simple demographic model of the polar polychaete population dynamics under normal and 'global-warming' temperature scenarios. Broader impacts include two outreach activities. The first is a mentoring program, where African-American undergraduate students spend 1.5 years working on a research project with a UD faculty member (2 summers plus their senior academic year). The second is a children's display activity at UD?s School of Marine Science "Coast Day".