OPUS: MCS The imprint of developmental bias on morphological diversification

进化取决于发展过程的可能结果，但科学家缺乏一个正式的数学结构，将发展偏见纳入进化理论。开发通用建模框架的一个挑战是，发育偏差是所讨论的结构和物种所特有的。这项研究将把软骨和骨骼生长模型纳入进化框架。研究人员将建立在最近对蟾蜍耳朵结构的比较基础上;许多蟾蜍物种的耳朵发育受损，缺乏通常对听力很重要的结构。该项目将把研究人员和学生与机械工程师聚集在一起，创建一个数学模型，根据发育参数预测耳朵结构。该模型将研究可以改变蟾蜍物种是否发育耳朵的进化变化。这个框架将形成一个通用的基础，可以应用于其他结构，以了解发育过程如何限制突变的可能结果。工程师和生物学家之间加强合作将为所有参与者提供重要的教育机会。该项目包括开发课程和活动，帮助本科生，研究生和教授学习进化建模方法。为了实现这些目标，PI招募了三位导师来模拟发育偏见对形态多样性的影响：一位模拟生物过程的工程师，一位研究两栖动物神经嵴和软骨发育的领先进化发育生物学家，也是基于遗传学的进化模型方面的专家科学家和工程师将在跨学科课程中合作，以获得互补的专业知识并培训CSU学生。他们将调整软骨生长模型，以探索细胞大小，密度和局部化学环境影响耳朵发育的程度，以及细胞与细胞或细胞与环境的相互作用可能改变形态。这些模型将产生可测试的预测，将指导实验与进化发育生物学家合作，并将纳入一个明确的进化框架下的系统发育建模的指导下。除了为PI和研究生提供教育机会外，这项工作的另一个成果将是一个公开的模块，以更好地在大型生物学入门课程中教授进化生物学。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智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Evolution depends on the possible outcomes of developmental processes, yet scientists lack a formal mathematical structure to incorporate developmental biases into evolutionary theory. One challenge in developing a general modeling framework is that developmental biases are unique to the structure and species in question. This research will incorporate models of cartilage and bone growth into an evolutionary framework. The researchers will build on recent comparisons of ear structures among toads; many toad species have impaired ear development and lack structures commonly important for hearing. The project will bring together researchers and students with mechanical engineers to create a mathematical model that predicts ear structures based on developmental parameters. The model will examine evolutionary changes that can switch whether or not toad species develop ears. This framework will form a general foundation that can be applied to other structures to understand how developmental processes limit possible outcomes of mutations. The increased collaboration between engineers and biologists will provide key educational opportunities for all participants. The project includes developing courses and activities that will help undergraduates, graduate students, and professors learn evolutionary modeling methods.To accomplish these goals, the PI has recruited three mentors to model the effects of developmental biases on morphological diversity: an engineer who models biological processes, a leading evolutionary developmental biologist who studies neural crest and cartilage development in amphibians, and an expert in phylogenetically based models of evolution. The scientist and the engineer will work together in cross-disciplinary courses to gain complementary expertise and train CSU students. They will adapt models of cartilage growth to explore the extent to which cell size, density, and local chemical environments influence ear development and also which cell-cell or cell-environment interactions could alter morphology. These models will generate testable predictions that will guide experiments in collaboration with the evolutionary developmental biologist and will be incorporated into an explicit evolutionary framework under the guidance of the phylogenetic modeler. In addition to the educational opportunities for the PI and graduate students, another outcome of this work will be a publicly available module to better teach evolutionary biology in large introductory biology classes.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.