DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Integrating Physiology and Genomics to Test for Local Adaptation in a Montane Ectotherm

这个项目将调查决定西部栅栏蜥蜴颜色和大小差异的过程，这些蜥蜴出现在加利福尼亚州山区的高海拔和低海拔地区。高海拔蜥蜴比低海拔蜥蜴更黑、更大。一个物种内部的这种特征差异通常被认为是基于遗传的，是适应当地环境的结果。然而，不同的环境条件对发育的影响也可能导致表型差异。研究人员将结合生理实验和基因组分析来确定西部栅栏蜥蜴的颜色和大小差异是自然选择的结果还是表型可塑性的结果。这些结果将为环境依赖的表型差异在不同环境中的作用和进化优势提供关键的见解。此外，该项目还包括针对对STEM领域感兴趣的年轻女孩的为期一天的教育讲习班，以及为当地博物馆开发关于蜥蜴的互动展览。这项研究集中在加利福尼亚州内华达山脉海拔梯度上西部栅栏蜥蜴(Scelopus Ocsidentalis)的一个表型跃层。结合基因组学、功能生态学和转录组学技术，本研究将全面了解西部栅栏蜥蜴高海拔表型的起源和功能。研究人员计划评估温度和日照长度对幼虫表型的影响，并确定与表型分化有关的候选基因组区域。幼年蜥蜴将在实验室普通花园实验中饲养，处理方法模拟高海拔和低海拔条件。这一实验设计将分离表型的遗传和环境成分，并阐明特征差异的功能含义。通过比较在本地和非本地条件下饲养的蜥蜴的基因表达谱，将在生物和基因组水平上识别对环境条件的固定和可塑性反应。

This project will investigate the processes determining color and size differences between western fence lizards occurring at high versus low elevations on mountains in California. High elevation lizards are darker and larger than low elevation lizards. Such differences in traits within a species are generally assumed to be genetically based and a result of adaptation to local environments. However, phenotypic differences can also result from the effects of different environmental conditions on development. The researchers will use a combination of physiological experiments and genomic analyses to identify whether color and size differences in western fence lizards are a consequence of natural selection or phenotypic plasticity. Results will provide critical insights into the role and evolutionary advantages of environmentally dependent phenotypic differences in heterogeneous environments. In addition, the project includes day-long educational workshops targeting young girls interested in STEM fields and development of an interactive exhibit on lizards for a local museum.This study focuses on a phenotypic cline in the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) along an elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. By combining techniques from genomics, functional ecology, and transcriptomics, this research will develop a comprehensive picture of the origin and function of high elevation phenotypes in western fence lizards. The researchers plan to evaluate the influence of temperature and day length on juvenile phenotypes, and to identify candidate genomic regions implicated in phenotypic differentiation. Juvenile lizards will be reared in a laboratory common garden experiment with treatments that mimic conditions at high and low elevation. This experimental design will decouple the genetic and environmental constituents of phenotype, and also shed light on the functional implications of trait differences. By comparing gene expression profiles of lizards reared in native and non-native conditions, fixed and plastic responses to environmental conditions at both organismal and genomic levels will be identified.