DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Genomic basis of desert adaptation in rodents

论文研究：啮齿动物沙漠适应的基因组基础

• 批准号: 1601827
• 负责人: Michael Nachman
• 金额: $ 2.03万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-06-01 至 2019-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1601827&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Genomic; basis; desert

The proposed study focuses on genome-wide adaptation to an extreme environment, the aridity of desert ecosystems, across three rodent lineages. Understanding the evolutionary history of traits that allow organisms to adapt to their environments has long been a central goal of evolutionary biology. The project will contribute to recent medical, agricultural, and academic research that has been uncovering the genes responsible for complex adaptive traits and determining the effect mutations in these genes have on mice and other mammals, including humans. An especially important question is what is the extent of the "genetic toolbox": how many evolutionarily viable solutions are there to a common evolutionary problem, like thriving in an extreme environment? This project potentially will further our understanding of convergence at the molecular level and the repeatability of evolution. In addition, the investigators will engage in research with undergraduates from underrepresented groups and provide public and K12 outreach on this project.Ultra-efficient kidneys are often associated with desert rodents who drink little to no free water. This study explores the genetic basis of three independent evolutionary origins of this trait. Transcriptomes will be sequenced for three pairs of species, one desert adapted and one temperate adapted, and sequence and expression data will be compared to answer: 1) is there convergence at the amino acid level in desert taxa not seen in the temperate taxa? 2) Are the same genes under selection in some or all of desert taxa? 3) Are there convergent gene expression patterns in the desert taxa not seen in the temperate taxa? The results from this research will provide essential insight into the way organisms adapt to their environment and how genomes evolve.

拟议的研究重点是三个啮齿动物谱系对极端环境、沙漠生态系统干旱的全基因组适应。了解有机体适应环境的特征的进化历史长期以来一直是进化生物学的中心目标。该项目将为最近的医学、农业和学术研究做出贡献，这些研究一直在揭示负责复杂适应性特征的基因，并确定这些基因突变对小鼠和其他哺乳动物（包括人类）的影响。一个特别重要的问题是“遗传工具箱”的范围是什么：对于一个常见的进化问题，比如在极端环境中蓬勃发展，有多少种进化上可行的解决方案？该项目可能会进一步加深我们对分子水平趋同性和进化可重复性的理解。此外，研究人员还将与来自代表性不足群体的本科生一起进行研究，并为该项目提供公众和 K12 推广。超高效肾脏通常与很少甚至不喝免费水的沙漠啮齿动物有关。本研究探讨了该性状的三个独立进化起源的遗传基础。 将对三对物种（一对适应沙漠，一对适应温带）的转录组进行测序，并将序列和表达数据与答案进行比较：1）沙漠类群的氨基酸水平是否存在温带类群中未见的趋同？ 2）在部分或全部沙漠类群中是否选择了相同的基因？ 3）沙漠类群中是否存在温带类群中未见的趋同基因表达模式？这项研究的结果将为了解生物体适应环境的方式以及基因组如何进化提供重要的见解。