Doctoral Dissertation Research: Using natural hybridization to investigate patterns of primate gene regulation

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Gene regulation affects when, where, and how much a gene is expressed in an organism. This doctoral dissertation project will study changes in DNA methylation (a chemical mark on DNA that influences gene expression levels) in different baboon species, to better understand how changes in DNA methylation affect gene expression, how DNA methylation has diverged between species, and the role of natural selection in this process. Differences in how particular genes are expressed are thought to be important in explaining many differences among primate species, including some traits that are unique to the human lineage. Novel data on gene regulation and expression can therefore help to advance knowledge about the development of our own species. The project will support student training and mentoring at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels, and the development and dissemination of interdisciplinary approaches using genomic methods that can be applied to a number of other fields of study.This project will investigate the effects of genetic ancestry on DNA methylation by leveraging genetic admixture in 150 adult baboons from a wild baboon population in Kenya. Admixed individuals (baboons with ancestry from two distinct but closely related taxa) provide the opportunity to test how genetic variation from different ancestries influences DNA methylation when placed in a common environment. Furthermore, because the study population has been affected by both recent and historical admixture events, it can be used to test hypotheses about the legacy of archaic hominin admixture with modern humans. Finally, this project will ask whether between-species differences in DNA methylation translate to changes in gene expression, testing an important assumption of models that link DNA methylation to trait variation.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.