Transitions: Experimental Evolutionary Cell Biology

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Evolutionary cell biology is an emerging field that has the potential to provide insight into the myriad ways cells work along with the evolutionary processes and constraints which molds their structures and functions. The goal of this project is to help provide valuable training to a cell biology group, which will enable them to tackle important problems in this emerging field. Specifically, the group will gain expertise in growing cells of an ecologically important red algae, but one in which cell biology understanding is limited. In an interdisciplinary collaboration, insight will be gained into how these algae have evolved without the benefit of what is typically considered to be essential proteins. The PI and the collaborating group will use the resulting broad perspectives and interdisciplinary tools to identify proteins and mechanisms that are common across divergent cellular organisms, helping to illuminate basic cell biological and evolutionary processes. Broader Impact activities will include the training of high school students, undergraduate and graduate students in research methods and additional outreach work will target an older generation on the interrelatedness of science. This research consists of two projects. Project 1 has two goals: a) to experimentally test hypotheses developed from phylogenetic analysis of how the red alga Porphyra umbilicalis accomplishes core biological processes (e.g., cell movement, membrane transport, cell division) without key cytoskeletal proteins; b) to deepen our understanding of the cytoskeletal evolution in red algae (and plants more broadly) by conducting an initial study of the cytoskeleton in Rhodelphis limneticus, a motile and predatory organism that belongs to a phylum sister to red algae. In Project 2, in vitro evolution experiments will be carried out, with the goal of testing the hypothesis (developed through discussions with collaborators in population genetics and mathematical biology) that constraints imposed by nutrient availability affect the rate of adaptation to non-nutrient stresses. This pilot project has relevance for development of resistance to pesticides and drugs. Together, these parallel projects are designed to build a solid foundation for future research in experimental evolutionary cell 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.