NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2010

2010 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1003035
• 负责人: Cristina Ledon-Rettig
• 金额: $ 18.9万
• 依托单位: Ledon-Rettig Cristina C
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1003035&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2010. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Cristina Ledon-Rettig is "Ecological Epigenetics in Invasive House Sparrow." The host institution for this research is the University of South Florida and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Lynn Martin.Historically it was thought that the instructions for an organism's behavior are contained in its genome. However, genes only influence an organism's behavior when they are expressed. It is now known that a network of chemical switches - collectively known as the "epigenome" - governs when genes are expressed or silenced. Further, these chemical switches can be modified by an organism's environment. For instance, a stressful environmental can generate stable epigenetic changes that "program" individuals to be less fearful and more aggressive when they encounter future stressors. This rapid modification of behavior may enable certain species to expand their ranges and become pests because epigenetics shortcuts genetic mutation in generating fearless, aggressive behaviors. This project is using the common house sparrow to investigate the role of epigenetics in biological invasions. While the house sparrow has colonized most of the planet, it is currently invading central Kenya. To test the hypothesis that epigenetic modifications facilitate the rapid expansion of a species into novel habitats, these chemical switches are being characterized and compared among house sparrow populations in Kenya. Training objectives include applying new technologies for investigating epigenetic modification to an ecologically relevant setting. The scientific impact of this work is broad, as epigenetic modification is pertinent in evolutionary and developmental biology and plays an important role in conservation studies. In addition, the results from this research prevent future invasions when it is communicated locally through conservation groups, and abroad through involvement with the National Museum of Kenya.

这一行动为2010财年的NSF少数民族博士后研究奖学金提供资金。该研究金支持研究员在东道实验室的研究和培训计划，研究员还提出了扩大生物学参与的计划。Cristina Ledon-Rettig奖学金的研究和培训计划的标题是“入侵家雀的生态表观遗传学”。“这项研究的主办机构是南佛罗里达大学，赞助科学家是林恩马丁博士。然而，基因只有在表达时才会影响生物体的行为。现在我们知道，一个化学开关网络--统称为“表观基因组”--控制着基因何时表达或沉默。此外，这些化学开关可以通过生物体的环境进行修改。例如，一个有压力的环境可以产生稳定的表观遗传变化，这些变化“编程”个体在遇到未来的压力源时变得不那么恐惧和更具侵略性。这种行为的快速改变可能使某些物种能够扩大其范围并成为害虫，因为表观遗传学在产生无畏，攻击性行为方面缩短了基因突变。这个项目是用普通的家雀来研究表观遗传学在生物入侵中的作用。 虽然家雀已经殖民了地球的大部分地区，但它目前正在入侵肯尼亚中部。为了验证表观遗传修饰促进物种迅速扩展到新栖息地的假设，这些化学开关正在肯尼亚的家雀种群中进行表征和比较。培训目标包括应用新技术，在生态相关环境中调查表观遗传修饰。这项工作的科学影响是广泛的，因为表观遗传修饰与进化和发育生物学有关，并在保护研究中发挥重要作用。此外，这项研究的结果通过保护团体在当地传播，并通过参与肯尼亚国家博物馆在国外传播，可以防止未来的入侵。