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

这个项目将调查的过程中确定的颜色和大小之间的差异发生在高海拔与低海拔的加州山区西部围栏蜥蜴。高海拔的蜥蜴比低海拔的蜥蜴更黑更大。一般认为，一个物种在性状上的这种差异是基于遗传的，是对当地环境适应的结果。然而，不同的环境条件对发育的影响也可能导致表型差异。研究人员将使用生理实验和基因组分析相结合的方法来确定西部围栏蜥蜴的颜色和大小差异是否是自然选择或表型可塑性的结果。结果将提供关键的洞察异质环境中的环境依赖的表型差异的作用和进化优势。此外，该项目还包括为期一天的教育讲习班，针对年轻女孩感兴趣的STEM领域和发展的互动展览蜥蜴为当地museum.This研究的重点是在西部的栅栏蜥蜴（Sceloporus octagentalis）沿着海拔梯度在内华达州山脉的加州的表型渐变。通过结合基因组学、功能生态学和转录组学的技术，本研究将全面了解西部围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青少年表型的影响，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，模拟高海拔和低海拔的条件。这种实验设计将解耦的遗传和环境成分的表型，也揭示了功能的影响性状差异。通过比较蜥蜴在原生和非原生条件下饲养的基因表达谱，将确定在生物体和基因组水平上对环境条件的固定和塑性反应。

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.