The Evolution of Gene Expression: Molecular Mechanisms and Inheritance Patterns Revealed on a Genomic Scale With Next-Generation Sequencing

智力优势：孤立的基因是一种惰性物体——只不过是一串核苷酸碱基。只有当一个基因被置于细胞环境中并与其他基因的产物相互作用时，它才能变得活跃。激活的第一步是基因被转录或“表达”。这种表达对于生物体的正常发育和生理至关重要，而改变表达的突变是进化变化的常见来源。尽管它们很重要，但很少有突变导致物种间基因表达差异的情况被确定，我们对调控进化的分子机制和进化过程的理解仍然有限。该项目将通过使用最新的高通量测序技术揭示导致整个基因组基因表达进化的分子变化类型，从而帮助缩小这一知识差距。在这项工作的过程中，还将开发新的计算工具，以帮助其他研究人员解决各种科学问题。更广泛的影响：该项目将产生DNA序列数据和生物信息学工具，这将使更广泛的科学研究界受益。这项研究还将为理解生物体如何适应不断变化的环境奠定技术和概念基础。该项目包括旨在增加代表性不足群体成员参与科学的活动，并改善遗传学、基因组学和进化论的本科和研究生教学。例如，首席研究员将在亚利桑那州立大学数学和理论生物学暑期学院教授“遗传学和基因组学”的一个模块，该学院主要招收少数民族学生；接待来自一所85%是非裔学生的高中的生物预科学生；并担任密歇根大学多元化委员会主席，该委员会负责制定和监督旨在增加少数族裔本科生和研究生机会的项目。教学贡献包括评估由首席研究员开发的教学技术的有效性，为《自然教育》提供教学资源；并在密歇根大学的大型讲座课程中推广主动学习系统的策略。

Intellectual Merit: In isolation, a gene is an inert object - nothing more than a string of nucleotide bases. Only when placed in a cellular environment and interacting with the products of other genes can a gene become active. The first step in this activation is for the gene to be transcribed, or "expressed." This expression is essential for the proper development and physiology of an organism, and mutations that alter expression are a common source of evolutionary change. Despite their importance, there are few cases in which the mutations responsible for differences in gene expression between species have been identified, and our understanding of the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary processes that underlie regulatory evolution remain limited. This project will help close this knowledge gap by revealing the types of molecular changes responsible for the evolution of gene expression throughout the genome using the latest high-throughput sequencing technology. New computational tools will also be developed in the course of this work that will assist other researchers working on a variety of scientific questions. Broader impacts: This project will generate DNA sequence data and bioinformatic tools that will benefit the broader scientific research community. The research will also establish a technical and conceptual foundation for understanding how organisms adapt to changing environments. The project includes activities designed to increase the participation of members of underrepresented groups in the sciences and improve undergraduate and graduate teaching in genetics, genomics, and evolution. For example, the principal investigator will teach a module on "Genetics and Genomics" at the Arizona State University Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Summer Institute that enrolls predominantly minority students; host A.P. Biology students from a high school with 85% African-American students; and serve as chair of a diversity committee at the University of Michigan that develops and oversees programs designed to increase opportunities for minority undergraduate and graduate students. Pedagogical contributions include evaluating the effectiveness of a teaching technique developed by the principal investigator, contributing teaching resources to Nature Education; and promoting strategies for active learning systems in large lecture courses at the University of Michigan.