Transitions: Experimental Evolutionary Cell Biology

进化细胞生物学是一个新兴的领域，它有可能让人们深入了解细胞的各种工作方式，以及塑造其结构和功能的进化过程和制约因素。该项目的目标是帮助为细胞生物学小组提供有价值的培训，使他们能够解决这一新兴领域的重要问题。具体地说，该团队将获得培养一种具有重要生态意义的红藻细胞的专业知识，但对细胞生物学的了解有限。在一项跨学科的合作中，人们将深入了解这些藻类是如何在没有通常被认为是必需蛋白质的情况下进化的。PI和合作小组将使用由此产生的广泛视角和跨学科工具来确定在不同细胞有机体中共同存在的蛋白质和机制，帮助阐明基本的细胞生物学和进化过程。更广泛的影响活动将包括对高中生、本科生和研究生进行研究方法培训，并将针对老一辈人开展更多关于科学相互关联性的外联工作。本研究由两个项目组成。项目1有两个目标：a)通过实验测试根据系统发育分析得出的假设，即脐带紫菜如何在没有关键细胞骨架蛋白的情况下完成核心生物学过程(如细胞移动、膜运输、细胞分裂)；b)通过对红藻的细胞骨架进行初步研究，加深我们对红藻(乃至更广泛的植物)细胞骨架进化的理解；Rhodelphis limneticus是一种运动性和捕食性生物，属于红藻的姊妹门。在项目2中，将进行体外进化实验，目的是检验假设(通过与种群遗传学和数学生物学合作者的讨论而形成)，即营养可获得性施加的限制会影响对非营养胁迫的适应速度。这一试点项目对发展对农药和药物的抗药性具有重要意义。总之，这些平行项目旨在为未来的实验进化细胞生物学研究奠定坚实的基础。这一奖项反映了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。

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.