NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2013

2013 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1306538
• 负责人: Kevin Kocot
• 金额: $ 14万
• 依托单位: Kocot Kevin M
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1306538&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This Postdoctoral Research Fellowship award to Dr. Kevin M. Kocot is supported by both the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Office of International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. During the 24-month fellowship, Dr. Kocot will work on a project titled, "Evolution of Biomineralization in Aculiferan Molluscs" under the sponsorship of Dr. Bernard Degnan at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.Biomineralization is the process by which organisms secrete mineralized structures such as skeletons or shells. The goal of this research is to study the process of biomineralization in a group of evolutionarily important molluscs using a genomic approach. High-throughput DNA sequencing will be employed to survey the genomes of aplacophorans (sclerite-covered, worm-shaped molluscs) and chitons (slug-like molluscs with 8 shell plates) and identify genes involved in biomineralization. Where and when these genes are 'turned on' (expressed) in the various types of cells involved in biomineralization will be investigated and visualized using in situ hybridization. Also, non-mineral compounds incorporated into mineralized structures will be identified using mass spectroscopy. Additionally, a secondary goal of this research is to contribute to the paucity of knowledge on the diversity of Australian aplacophoran molluscs including formal description of unnamed species.Mollusca is the second most species-rich group of animals and includes manyeconomically, ecologically, and biomedically important taxa. The great success of molluscs can be attributed, at least in part, to their ability to secrete calcified structures that provide them with physical support and defense. Because of their beauty, intrigue, and diversity, biomineralized structures (especially shells and pearls) produced by molluscs such as snails and bivalves have long been valued by humans. This work focuses on the less familiar aculiferans (aplacophorans and chitons) because recent genetic studies have shown that they comprise an evolutionary important group, distinct from all other molluscs. Additionally, recent paleontological studies indicate that aculiferans have retained ancestral characteristics that have been modified or lost in other molluscs. As molluscs are one of the first animal groups to appear in the fossil record, this work will have important implications for understanding of early animal evolution in general. In addition, this work will inform studies on economically important molluscs such as pearl oysters and abalone. Dr. Kocot will train undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds on this research. He will continue to be an active curator of invertebrates for The Encyclopedia of Life and an active contributor to Wikipedia articles in my field. In addition, he will continue to serve as a mentor to undergraduate and early-career graduate students through MentorNet.This award provides a unique opportunity for a US scientist to collaborate with foreign scientists, and utilize the unique facilities, expertise and experimental conditions available abroad.

授予凯文·M·科科特博士的博士后研究奖学金得到了生物科学局和国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室的支持。在为期24个月的奖学金期间，科科特博士将在澳大利亚布里斯班昆士兰大学的伯纳德·德南博士的赞助下，致力于一个名为《Aculiferan软体动物生物矿化的进化》的项目。生物矿化是生物体分泌骨骼或贝壳等矿化结构的过程。这项研究的目的是用基因组方法研究一组进化上重要的软体动物的生物矿化过程。高通量DNA测序将被用来调查甲壳类(覆盖着石块的蠕虫形状的软体动物)和石鳖(具有8个壳板的鼻涕状软体动物)的基因组，并识别参与生物矿化的基因。在参与生物矿化的不同类型的细胞中，这些基因何时何地“启动”(表达)，将通过原位杂交进行调查和可视化。此外，结合到矿化结构中的非矿物化合物将使用质谱学进行鉴定。此外，这项研究的第二个目标是帮助人们对澳大利亚软体动物的多样性缺乏了解，包括对未命名物种的正式描述。软体动物是物种丰富的第二大类群，包括许多经济、生态和生物医学上重要的类群。软体动物的巨大成功至少部分归功于它们分泌钙化结构的能力，这些钙化结构为它们提供了物理支持和防御。蜗牛和双壳类等软体动物产生的生物矿化结构(特别是贝壳和珍珠)因其美观、有趣和多样性，长期以来一直受到人类的重视。这项工作集中在不太熟悉的刺胞动物(无足类和石鳖)上，因为最近的遗传学研究表明，它们构成了一个进化上重要的类群，与所有其他软体动物不同。此外，最近的古生物学研究表明，金丝桃科动物保留了在其他软体动物中被修改或丧失的祖先特征。由于软体动物是化石记录中最早出现的动物类群之一，这项工作将对从总体上理解早期动物进化具有重要意义。此外，这项工作将为经济上重要的软体动物，如珍珠牡蛎和鲍鱼的研究提供参考。科科特博士将就这项研究对不同背景的本科生进行培训。他将继续担任生命百科全书无脊椎动物的积极策展人，并积极为我所在领域的维基百科文章投稿。此外，他将继续通过MentorNet担任本科生和职业生涯早期研究生的导师。这一奖项为美国科学家提供了一个独特的机会，让他与外国科学家合作，并利用国外提供的独特设施、专业知识和实验条件。