Chromosomal inversions and gene expression in Mimulus

染色体倒位是一种突变，其中染色体的一部分在方向上翻转。该研究项目将为这类重要的突变对几种猴花的基因表达变异提供广泛、定量的评估。它将为一名研究生和一名博士后研究科学家提供必要的遗传和生物信息学培训。该项目还将扩大正在进行的努力，让堪萨斯州的高中生参与遗传学研究。倒序改变DNA序列的方式与核苷酸取代（最常被研究的突变类型）有着根本的不同，并与一系列自然现象有关，包括对新环境的适应和物种形成。在人类中，它们会导致许多疾病，也会导致非疾病特征的变异。然而，尽管有无数的例子，对于逆序对自然遗传变异和基因组进化的贡献有多大，仍然没有定量的理解。本研究项目将在猴花（Mimulus guttatus）的物种复合体中提供定量评估，其中许多与倒置相关的不同现象已被证明。相对于引起基因表达差异的其他突变类型，倒置的重要性将在三个不同的生物组织水平上进行评估：种群内个体之间、物种种群之间和物种之间。该结果有望为染色体倒位如何影响基因表达、适应、种群差异和物种形成提供新的见解。本项目由分子和细胞生物科学部的遗传机制项目和环境生物学部的进化过程项目共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

Chromosomal inversions are a type of mutation in which a section of a chromosome is flipped in orientation. This research project will provide a broad, quantitative evaluation of this important class of mutations to gene expression variation in several species of monkeyflower. It will provide essential genetic and bioinformatic training to a graduate student and a post-doctoral research scientist. The project will also extend ongoing efforts to engage Kansas high-school students in genetics research.Inversions alter the DNA sequence in a way that is fundamentally different from nucleotide substitutions (the most commonly studied kind of mutation) and have been implicated in a remarkable range of natural phenomena including adaptation to novel environments and speciation. In humans, they cause of a number of diseases and also contribute to variation in non-disease traits. However, despite countless examples, there still is no quantitative understanding for how much inversions contribute to natural genetic variation and genome evolution. This research project will provide a quantitative evaluation within a species complex of monkeyflowers (Mimulus guttatus) where many of the disparate phenomena associated with inversions have been demonstrated. The importance of inversions, relative to other mutation types causing differences in gene expression, will be estimated at three different levels of biological organization: between individuals within a population, between populations of a species, and between species. The results are expected to provide new insights into how chromosomal inversions influence gene expression, adaptation, population divergence, and speciation.This project is co-funded by the Genetic Mechanisms Program in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and by the Evolutionary Processes Program in the Division of Environmental Biology.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.