Doctoral Dissertation Research: Adaptations for insectivory in digestive enzymes of primates

昆虫是许多灵长类动物饮食的重要组成部分，并被认为在灵长类家族的进化中发挥了重要作用。支持食虫的生理适应还没有得到很好的理解，本论文的研究项目将研究内部的饮食适应，如消化酶，灵长类动物用来消化这一重要的食物资源。研究结果将为灵长类动物的饮食生态、生态位分离和专业化提供深入的见解。该项目将支持在本科和研究生一级对女生和代表性不足的少数民族学生进行学术培训和辅导。本科生将有机会开发和开展自己的研究项目，并在罗格斯大学本科研究研讨会上展示他们的研究成果。将免费开发和分发一个在线教育模块，向小学生解释饮食适应。本教学资源将结合本研究的结果，以及有关人类学实地考察的信息，旨在培养K-12学生对科学和人类进化的兴趣。昆虫消费广泛存在于人类和非人类灵长类动物中，被认为是灵长类动物进化的驱动力，选择灵长类动物的视觉系统和其他形态特征。昆虫，尤其是白蚁，可能是早期人类的关键资源。该项目的重点是消化酶酸性哺乳动物几丁质酶和胃蛋白酶A作为新世界灵长类动物食虫的潜在适应，这些灵长类动物表现出高度的食虫性和多样化的饮食生态。使用DNA样本，研究人员将进行广泛的，比较调查的platyrrhine物种，以解决以下问题：（1）是否所有的platyrrhines共享一个功能基因序列的几丁质分解酶，无论饮食？(2)与食虫蝙蝠和吸血蝙蝠相比，食虫和非食虫的阔鼻蝠消化酶基因的趋同模式是什么？(3)几丁质酶基因（CHIA）是否在更食虫的物种中以更高的拷贝数出现？蛋白水解消化酶胃蛋白酶A（PGA）基因拷贝数是否在高蛋白饲料的宽鼻鱼中较高？了解新世界猴的消化酶和相关的遗传变异，将有助于与其他现存的灵长类动物群体进行比较，如旧世界猴、猿和人类，以及其他食虫哺乳动物。

Insects are a critical component of many primate diets, and are thought to have played an important role in the evolution of the primate family. The physiological adaptations that underpin insectivory are not well understood, and this dissertation research project will study internal dietary adaptations, such as digestive enzymes, that primates use to digest this important food resource. The research findings will provide insight into the evolution of dietary ecologies, niche separation, and specialization of primate species. The project will support academic training and mentoring of female and underrepresented minority students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The undergraduate student will have the opportunity to develop and conduct their own research project and present their findings at the Rutgers Undergraduate Research Symposium. An online educational module explaining dietary adaptations to elementary school students will be developed and distributed at no cost. This teaching resource will incorporate results of this study, as well as information about anthropological fieldwork, and is intended to foster an interest in science and human evolution in K-12 students.Insect consumption is widespread across human and non-human primates, and is thought to have been a driving force in primate evolution, selecting for the primate visual system and other morphological features. Insects, especially termites, may have been a key resource for early hominins. This project focuses on the digestive enzymes acidic mammalian chitinase and pepsin A as potential adaptations for insectivory in New World primates, which exhibit a high degree of insectivory and a diverse array of dietary ecologies. Using DNA samples, the investigator will conduct a broad, comparative survey of platyrrhine species to address the following questions: (1) Do all platyrrhines share a functional gene sequence for a chitinolytic enzyme, regardless of diet? (2) What are the patterns of convergence in digestive enzyme genes of insectivorous and non-insectivorous platyrrhines compared to insectivorous and sanguivorous bats? (3) Does the chitinase gene (CHIA) occur in greater copy numbers in more insectivorous species? And (4) does the proteolytic digestive enzyme pepsin A (PGA) have higher gene copy numbers in platyrrhine species with high-protein diets? Having an understanding of the digestive enzymes and relevant genetic variation found in New World monkeys will allow comparisons with other extant primate groups, such as Old World monkeys, apes, and humans, as well as other insectivorous mammals.