CAREER: Integrating research and training to illuminate mechanisms of teleost fin ray morphogenesis and diversity

鳍鱼的骨鳍在结构上表现出相当大的多样性，鳍骨架的变化必然是适应不同的游泳策略和其他功能的基础。许多鱼都有一次或多次分支的鳍条，这些分支的存在、数量和位置在不同物种之间差异很大。了解决定分支位置的发育过程可以更好地理解进化是如何塑造鳍多样性的。这项研究计划旨在利用鳍条骨骼来揭示骨骼建立、记忆和重新创造其形状的基本机制。此外，由于鳍结构的功能意义还不完全被理解，这项研究与一个本科生培训计划相结合，该计划将解决关于鳍射线结构和分支模式的多样性、性能和演变的突出问题。本课程将互惠地告知并丰富整个研究工作，并将指导来自不同背景的学生回答他们自己设计的研究问题。这一综合研究计划有望更好地了解鱼鳍的发育和适应；将深入了解其他生物(包括人类)的骨骼和肢体发育，可能与再生医学相关；并将帮助多个教育水平的科学家为独立的科学生涯做准备。本研究使用斑马鱼尾鳍射线来测试一个模型，通过该模型，近端位置识别与鳍生长相协调，以指定发育和再生过程中的射线形态。研究人员将测试一个模型，在该模型中，全球内分泌因子协调已知的射线分支背后的接近细胞和分子过程，进一步研究位置信息在再生过程中存储和重新部署的机制。利用以调查为基础的本科生研究培训课程，这一综合计划将进一步解决有关放线翅目昆虫的功能生物力学和鳍和鳍射线形态进化的相关问题。总而言之，这一职业研究计划有望揭示鱼类形态的一个重要方面在发育过程中建立并可能在进化适应过程中被调节的机制。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。

The bony fins of ray-finned fish show considerable diversity in structure, and changes to the fin skeleton necessarily underlie adaptations to different swimming strategies and other functions. Many fish have fin rays that branch one or more times, and the presence, number and position of these branches are highly variant between species. Understanding the developmental processes that determine branch position can lead to a better understanding of how evolution has shaped fin diversity. This research program aims to use the fin ray skeleton to reveal fundamental mechanisms that allow bones to establish, remember and re-create their shapes. Further, since the functional significance of fin structure is incompletely understood, this research is integrated with an undergraduate training program that will address outstanding questions about the diversity, performance and evolution of fin ray structures and branching patterns. This course will reciprocally inform and enrich the overall research effort, and will mentor students from diverse backgrounds in answering research questions of their own design. This integrated research program is anticipated to provide a better understanding of fish fin development and adaptation; will yield insights into skeleton and limb development in other organisms, including humans, with likely relevance to regenerative medicine; and will help to prepare scientists at multiple educational levels for independent careers in science.This research uses zebrafish caudal fin rays to test a model by which proximo-distal positional identity is coordinated with fin outgrowth to specify ray morphology during both development and regeneration. Researchers will test a model in which a global endocrine factor coordinates proximate cellular and molecular processes known to underlie ray branching, further investigating the mechanisms by which positional information is stored and re-deployed during regeneration. Leveraging an investigation-based undergraduate research training course, this integrated program will further address related questions about the functional biomechanics and evolution of fin and fin ray morphology in actinopterigians. In all, this CAREER research program is expected to uncover mechanisms by which an important aspect of fish morphology is established during development and may be modulated during evolutionary adaptation.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.