RoL:FELS:EAGER: The genetic architecture of biomechanical integration in fishes

动物必须协调多个身体部位和/或系统的功能，以完成一项任务。例如，视觉系统和运动系统的协调对于积极捕猎移动的猎物的动物至关重要。对于鱼类来说，为了准确地捕获水中的猎物，运动和摄食系统必须协调。这种协调如何影响生存，或者它如何根据生态条件而有所不同，目前尚不清楚。此外，这种功能整合的遗传基础是一个谜。事实上，我们对控制非人类动物行为特征的基因几乎一无所知。三棘棘鱼系统被用来揭示这些关系，因为它们从一个共同的海洋祖先那里反复入侵孤立的淡水栖息地。这导致了在相对较短的时间内（自末次冰期以来）种群的快速平行进化。这个自然实验提供了一个框架，从中可以发现在对生存至关重要的任务中，复杂行为整合背后的特定基因。 该项目将扩展进化理论的边界，并为未来对复杂行为的研究提供基础。这项研究可以应用于任何动物系统，包括人类。 该项目将为学生和博士后研究人员提供研究培训和国际实地经验，包括那些来自传统上在STEM学科中代表性不足的群体的研究人员。调查自然种群的进化，这些种群会分化以利用不同的生态资源，这是进化生物学的一个重要目标。大多数研究遗传学和表型之间的联系集中在物种和种群之间的形态差异。然而，行为的进化变化通常被认为是启动适应性转变的组成部分，因此种群或物种可能会表现出各种栖息地选择策略来使用资源，并且可能在用于利用这些资源的行为特征上有所不同。对生存至关重要的行为特征，如猎物捕获或捕食者逃避，来自有机体内各部分和系统的整合，导致数量表型特征经常相互变化。我们对脊椎动物行为特征的遗传结构知之甚少，对行为整合的结构更是知之甚少。利用广泛的信息，关于生态和进化的threespine棘鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus），在猎物捕获过程中的运动和进食之间的动态功能整合的遗传结构将被确定。这将使用从海洋祖先分化出来的淡水种群的平行进化来完成。这些行为特征背后的遗传结构将通过对群体之间的许多杂交进行测序（并获得QTL），然后将其与生物力学表型联系起来（使用高速3D视频）进行检查。整合的重要性将使用打击精度分析和其他捕获成功的措施进行评估。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Animals must coordinate the function of multiple body parts and/or systems in order to accomplish a task. For example, the coordination of visual and locomotor systems is critical for animals that actively hunt mobile prey. For fishes, both the locomotor and feedings systems must be coordinated in order to accurately capture prey in the water. How this coordination impacts survival, or how it differs depending on ecological conditions, is unknown. Furthermore, the genetic basis of this functional integration is a mystery. In fact, almost nothing is known about the genes that control behavioral traits in non-human animals. The three-spine stickleback system is used for uncovering these relationships because they have repeatedly invaded isolated freshwater habitats from a common marine ancestor. This has resulted in the rapid parallel evolution of populations over a relatively short period of time (since the last glacial period). This natural experiment provides the framework from which to discover the specific genes that underlie complex behavioral integration during tasks that are critical for survival. This project will expand the boundaries of evolutionary theory and provide a basis from which to conduct future studies on complex behaviors. This research can translate to any animal system, including humans. The project will provide research training and international field experiences to student and postdoctoral investigators, including those from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the STEM disciplines.Investigating the evolution of natural populations that diverge to exploit different ecological resources is an important objective in evolutionary biology. Most studies that examine the link between genetics and phenotype focus on morphological differences among species and populations. However, evolutionary changes in behavior are often considered integral in initiating adaptive shifts, whereby populations or species may exhibit a variety of habitat selection strategies to use resources and may differ in the behavioral traits used to exploit those resources. Behavioral traits critical for survival, such as prey capture or predator evasion, emerge from the integration of parts and systems within an organism, causing quantitative phenotypic traits to often co-vary with one another. Little is known about the genetic architecture of behavioral traits in vertebrates, and even less is known about the architecture of behavioral integration. Leveraging the extensive information regarding the ecology and evolution of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), the genetic architecture of dynamic functional integration between locomotion and feeding during prey capture will be determined. This will be done using the parallel evolution of freshwater populations that have diverged from a marine ancestor. The genetic architecture underlying these behavioral traits will be examined by sequencing a number of crosses between populations (and obtaining QTLs), and then linking this to biomechanical phenotypes (using high-speed 3D video). The importance of integration will be assessed using a strike accuracy assay and other measures of capture success. This integrative approach may lead to new insight into the evolution of complex phenotypes.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.