Doctoral Dissertation Research: Gene Expression and Physiologic Extremes in Primate Hibernation

博士论文研究：灵长类冬眠中的基因表达和生理极端

• 批准号: 1455809
• 负责人: Anne Yoder
• 金额: $ 2.3万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-03-15 至 2017-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1455809&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Gene; Expression

Hibernation is a seasonal response that some species use to evade energetic demands posed by their environment. Hibernation is characterized by physiologic extremes that would be fatal to non-hibernating species, yet hibernators experience these extremes on an annual basis without harmful effects. Among primates, hibernation is only observed in the dwarf lemurs of Madagascar. Previous work suggests that hibernation is activated not by a set of genes unique to hibernators, but by selective expression of genes that are present in all mammals. This view raises multiple questions, including: Are the physiological processes associated with hibernation shared among all mammalian hibernators (e.g., ground squirrels, bats, bears), or does primate hibernation represent a specialized form of this behavior? Do all mammals, including humans, have the genetic capacity for hibernation? If so, how can we use this information for critical biomedical applications, such as emergency medicine or space travel? Broader impacts also include development of new research collaborations and significant science education and public outreach efforts.Transcriptome sequencing will be used to identify and quantify genes that are differentially expressed in white adipose tissue from differing physiological states associated with hibernation in 3 dwarf lemur species: one species of captive dwarf lemur (C. medius), and two species of free-ranging dwarf lemurs in Madagascar (C. crossleyi and C. sibreei). This is the first investigation of the genetic control of hibernation in a primate and therefore, this study has implications for understanding hibernation physiology at the most fundamental level. Revealing insights into how primate hibernators successfully display physiologic extremes without morbidity or mortality will have potential applications for biomedical research, and is relevant to the fields of comparative physiology, primate behavior, and evolutionary biology.

冬眠是一种季节性反应，一些物种用来逃避环境带来的能量需求。冬眠的特点是生理上的极端对非冬眠物种是致命的，但冬眠者每年都会经历这些极端，而不会产生有害影响。在灵长类动物中，冬眠只在马达加斯加的矮狐猴身上观察到。以前的研究表明，冬眠不是由冬眠者特有的一组基因激活的，而是通过选择性地表达所有哺乳动物中存在的基因来激活的。这一观点提出了多个问题，包括：与冬眠相关的生理过程是否在所有哺乳动物冬眠动物(如地松鼠、蝙蝠、熊)中共享，或者灵长类冬眠是否代表了这种行为的一种特殊形式？所有哺乳动物，包括人类，都有冬眠的遗传能力吗？如果是这样的话，我们如何将这些信息用于关键的生物医学应用，如紧急医学或太空旅行？更广泛的影响还包括发展新的研究合作以及重大的科学教育和公共宣传努力。转录组测序将用于识别和量化与冬眠相关的三种矮狐猴不同生理状态的白色脂肪组织中差异表达的基因：一种圈养矮狐猴(C.medius)，以及马达加斯加两种自由放养的矮狐猴(C.cross sleyi和C.sibreei)。这是第一次对灵长类动物冬眠的基因控制进行研究，因此，这项研究对于在最基本的水平上理解冬眠生理学具有重要意义。揭示灵长类冬眠动物如何在没有发病率或死亡率的情况下成功地表现出生理极端，将在生物医学研究中具有潜在的应用，并与比较生理学、灵长类动物行为和进化生物学领域相关。