NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2015年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大参与。该奖学金支持该研究员在一个主办实验室的一项研究和培训计划，以及一项扩大科学界代表性不足群体参与的计划。Roger D. Tseng获得的这项研究计划的标题是“研究蓝藻中必需基因的生物钟调节”。该奖学金的主办机构是加州大学圣地亚哥分校，赞助科学家是苏珊·s·戈尔登和詹姆斯·w·戈尔登。按24小时作息的生物能力无处不在，也许是为了适应可预测的日出和日落。内源性生物钟赋予生物体预测昼夜变化的共同能力，并通过相应地调整基因活动做出反应。了解生物钟如何调节基因活动是很重要的，因为生物钟功能障碍会导致代谢失衡、细胞生长异常，甚至细胞死亡。光合作用的蓝藻长聚球菌拥有最易控制的生物钟，是研究生物钟如何调节基因的绝佳模型。这项研究的重点是蓝藻的生物钟如何调节一组被称为“必需基因”的特殊基因，这些基因对细胞生存至关重要，很难在不杀死细胞的情况下进行操纵。该研究员正在开发一种新方法，在不诱导细胞死亡的情况下操纵基本基因的基因活性，并确定对生物时间的下游影响。研究结果有望深入了解：1)必要基因和生物钟之间的遗传调控；2)许多未知的必要基因的功能；3)生物钟在控制必要基因活动时赋予的进化优势。培训目标包括下一代基因组编辑、细菌遗传学、全细胞基因表达分析和高通量突变筛选。圣地亚哥有几个军事基地，为退伍军人的教育提供了一个绝佳的地点，加州大学圣地亚哥分校为退伍军人学生提供了完善的支持机制。其他教育推广包括建立一个大学生团队参加国际基因工程机器（iGEM）生物学竞赛。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Roger D. Tseng is "Investigating circadian clock regulation of essential genes in cyanobacteria." The host institution for this fellowship is University of California, San Diego, and the sponsoring scientists are Susan S. Golden and James W. Golden.The biological ability to keep time on a 24-hour schedule is ubiquitous, perhaps arising as an adaptation to predictable sunrise and sunset. An endogenous circadian clock endows organisms with this shared ability to anticipate day/night changes and respond by adjusting gene activities accordingly. Understanding how the biological clock regulates gene activities is important because clock dysfunction can lead to metabolic imbalance, abnormal cell growth, and even cell death. The photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus harbors the most tractable circadian clock and is an excellent model to study how the clock regulates genes. The fellowship research focuses on how the biological clock of cyanobacteria regulates a special group of genes called "essential genes" that are indispensable for cell survival and are difficult to manipulate without killing the cell. The Fellow is developing a new method to manipulate gene activity of the essential genes without inducing cell death and determining the downstream effects on biological timing. Results promise insights into 1) the genetic regulation between essential genes and the clock, 2) functions of the essential genes as many of them are unknown, and 3) evolutionary advantages conferred by the circadian clock when controlling essential gene activity. Training goals include next-generation genome editing, bacterial genetics, whole-cell gene expression analysis, and high-throughput mutant screening. San Diego provides an excellent location for educational outreach to veterans with its several military bases, and UCSD has well-established support mechanisms for students who are military veterans. Other educational outreach includes establishing an undergraduate team to participate in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) biology competition.