DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution of the metabolome across the Drosophila phylogeny

为什么有些物种比其他物种寿命更长？科学家们已经在实验室中确定了影响模型生物寿命的分子途径。然而，我们对物种之间巨大差异的潜在机制知之甚少，从只能存活一天的蜉蝣到可以存活几个世纪的蛤蜊。该项目将利用代谢组学来研究影响寿命的机制。代谢组学涉及测量和分析生物体内循环的数千种小分子（代谢物）。酶蛋白有助于调节代谢物水平，尽管蛋白质进化已得到充分研究，但对代谢物水平的进化知之甚少。该项目将测量十种果蝇（果蝇属）一生中不同年龄的代谢水平，以确定选择是否影响代谢组学谱在进化过程中的分化速率，以及适应性特征的进化是否与特定生化途径的进化变化有关。这项研究将是第一个使用代谢组学来回答基于进化的科学问题的研究之一，结果的呈现将使更多的科学家了解代谢组学的进化。该项目涉及不同科学领域（进化生物学、分子生物学和统计学）的结合。因此，参与该项目的本科研究人员将有机会学习结合多种研究方法，包括有机、分子和定量，以进行高水平的科学研究。

Why do some species live longer than others? Scientists have identified molecular pathways that influence the lifespan of model organisms in the laboratory. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that account for the enormous variation that we see among species, from mayflies that live for a day, to clams that can live for centuries. This project will use metabolomics to investigate mechanisms that influence lifespan. Metabolomics involves measuring and analyzing the thousands of small molecules (metabolites) circulating within an organism. Enzymatic proteins help regulate metabolite levels, and although protein evolution is well studied, little is known about the evolution of metabolite levels. This project will measure metabolite levels at various ages during the lifespan in ten species of fruit flies (Drosophila spp.) to determine if selection affects the rate at which metabolomic profiles diverge over evolutionary time and if the evolution of fitness traits is tied to evolutionary change in specific biochemical pathways.This study will be one of the first to use metabolomics to answer evolutionary based scientific questions, and the presentation of the results will enable more scientists to understand the evolution of metabolomics. This project involves the combination of different scientific fields (evolutionary biology, molecular biology, and statistics). As such, undergraduate researchers involved in this project will have the opportunity to learn to combine multiple research approaches, including organismal, molecular, and quantitative, to carry out high-level scientific inquiry.