CAREER: Evolution of individual identity - processes shaping shaping phenotypic and genetic diversity in animal recognition systems

正如我们从人类的外表所知道的那样，身体的变化对于识别个体是必不可少的。对动物个体外表的识别可能会对选择配偶产生影响，从而也会影响物种的进化轨迹。一方面，进化通常被认为可以减少物种内部个体外表的差异。另一方面，进化被证明有利于个性，因为它促进了认知度。这个项目试图通过纸蜂的实验来更好地理解这些看似截然不同的进化结果，纸蜂是一种通常用于研究行为进化的昆虫。这项研究将专注于一种具有高度个性化面部图案的纸质黄蜂物种，并调查面部变异是如何在其基因中编码的，它是如何保持的，以及有利于个性的自然选择在多大程度上有助于种群分化以创造新物种。该项目还将通过与纽约州伊萨卡科学中心和当地州立公园系统的合作来促进科学教育。拟议的工作将研究一种独特易驯服的纸蜂多样性的选择和人口统计过程。黄蜂的颜色模式在共巢的蜂王之间起着调节个体识别的作用，并且在种群内和种群之间都表现出显著的差异。前人的研究表明，青海松的颜色多样性是个体为宣传自己的身份和促进识别而进行选择的结果。极端的颜色模式多样性、相对简单的颜色变异遗传结构、较小的基因组大小和丰富的种群使这些黄蜂成为解决识别系统中维持表型和遗传多样性的基本问题的理想选择。这一强大的系统将被用来调查四个主要主题，群体和功能基因组学方法与标本的详细表型鉴定相结合：(1)个体身份信号的遗传结构是什么？(2)表型多样性和遗传结构如何相互作用来确定遗传多样性的模式？(3)选择性和人口因素在塑造表型多样性模式中扮演什么角色？(4)识别系统上的选择是否会导致多样性在不同时间和空间上保持变异或快速周转？该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As we know from human appearance, physical variation is essential for recognizing individuals. Recognition of individual appearance in animals can have consequences for choosing a mate, and consequently the trajectory of a species' evolution, as well. On the one hand, evolution is typically believed to reduce the variation of individual appearance within a species. On the other, evolution has been shown to favor individuality when it promotes recognition. This project seeks to better understand these seemingly contrasting consequences of evolution through experiments with paper wasps, insects commonly used to study the evolution of behavior. The research will focus on a paper wasp species with highly individual facial patterns, and investigates how facial variation is encoded in its genes, how it is maintained, and to what extent natural selection favoring individuality contributes to divergence of populations to create new species. This project will also promote science education through a collaboration with the Sciencenter of Ithaca, NY and the local state park system.The proposed work will study the selective and demographic processes shaping patterns of diversity in a uniquely tractable paper wasp. The color patterns of Polistes fuscatus wasps mediate individual recognition among co-nesting queens and show dramatic variation both within and between populations. Previous work has demonstrated that the color pattern diversity in P. fuscatus is the result of selection for individuals to advertise their identity and facilitate recognition. The extreme color pattern diversity, relatively simple genetic architecture of color variation, small genome size and abundant populations make these wasps ideal for addressing fundamental questions regarding the maintenance of phenotypic and genetic diversity in recognition systems. This powerful system will be used to investigate four major topics using a combination of comparative, population and functional genomics approaches coupled with detailed phenotyping of specimens: (1) What is the genetic architecture of individual identity signals? (2) How do phenotypic diversity and genetic architecture interact to determine patterns of genetic diversity? (3) What are the roles of selective and demographic forces in shaping patterns of phenotypic diversity? (4) Does selection on recognition systems lead to the maintenance of variation or rapid turnover in diversity across time and space?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.