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EAGER: Color, Vision, and Species Delimitation in the Jewel Beetles: From Opsin Proteins to Spectral Color

EAGER：宝石甲虫的颜色、视觉和物种界定：从视蛋白到光谱颜色

基本信息

批准号：
1841704
负责人：
Nathan Lord
金额：
$ 30万
依托单位：
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2018
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2018-09-15 至 2021-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1841704&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
EAGER Color Vision Species Delimitation

项目摘要

Vision has evolved multiple times within animals, but the processes driving this evolution are only partially understood. This project investigates the evolution of vision within beetles, the most diverse groups of life on the planet. Many beetles are known to be significant agricultural pests and understanding how these organisms perceive their surroundings and find mates may provide new methods for controlling their spread. Jewel beetles (family name Buprestidae), otherwise known as the metallic wood-boring beetles, are a large group of charismatic insects that have captured the eye of artists, jewelry makers, and scientists alike due to their broad diversity of iridescent coloration. Jewel beetles also possess members of significant economic importance, most notably the Emerald Ash Borer - an introduced pest species that is rapidly destroying large numbers of ash trees in the U.S. Little is known about the genealogy of jewel beetles, how color vision is achieved within the group, or how the brilliant shell colors are formed. This project will reconstruct genealogical relationships within the group using DNA sequence data and then use a novel combination of experiments to better understand the physiological functions of their visual proteins (opsins). Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in diverse field and laboratory approaches, including molecular, phylogenetic, and physiological methods. A learning module based on results from the research will also be developed for high school AP Biology courses in line with state education standards.Jewel beetles are some of the most well-known insects, but phylogenetic relationships within the group are poorly understood. This research project will use transcriptomic data to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships to provide the evolutionary framework necessary to investigate the molecular components of color vision (e.g., opsin proteins). The sensitivity of these visual proteins will then be tested through expression in a model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, and morphological analyses will be used to explore how colors and patterns on the exoskeleton are formed. Using this novel combination of visual pigment protein transcriptomics, ectopic visual pigment expression in HEK cells and Drosophila melanogaster, and analysis of cuticular color, this integrative project will provide new insights into the evolution of vision in a poorly known, yet agriculturally important, group of beetles.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.

视觉在动物体内已经进化了多次，但驱动这种进化的过程只被部分理解。这个项目研究甲虫视觉的进化，甲虫是地球上最多样化的生命群体。许多甲虫被认为是重要的农业害虫，了解这些生物如何感知周围环境并寻找配偶可能会提供控制其传播的新方法。宝石甲虫（家族名称Buwel beetles），也被称为金属钻木甲虫，是一大群魅力十足的昆虫，由于其广泛的彩虹色多样性，吸引了艺术家，珠宝制造商和科学家的目光。宝石甲虫也拥有重要的经济重要性，最著名的是翡翠灰螟-一种引进的害虫物种，正在迅速摧毁美国大量的白蜡树。人们对宝石甲虫的谱系知之甚少，对颜色视觉在群体中是如何实现的，或者对明亮的外壳颜色是如何形成的。该项目将使用DNA序列数据重建该组内的系谱关系，然后使用一种新的实验组合来更好地了解其视觉蛋白（视蛋白）的生理功能。本科生和研究生将接受不同领域和实验室方法的培训，包括分子，系统发育和生理方法。根据研究结果，还将为高中AP生物学课程开发一个学习模块，以符合国家教育标准。宝石甲虫是一些最知名的昆虫，但对该组内的系统发育关系知之甚少。本研究项目将使用转录组学数据重建系统发育关系，以提供研究色觉分子组成所需的进化框架（例如，视蛋白）。然后，这些视觉蛋白的敏感性将通过在模式生物果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）中的表达进行测试，形态学分析将用于探索外骨骼上的颜色和图案是如何形成的。使用这种视觉色素蛋白转录组学的新组合，HEK细胞和果蝇中的异位视觉色素表达，以及表皮颜色的分析，这个综合项目将为一个鲜为人知但在农业上重要的视觉进化提供新的见解，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识产权进行评估，优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。