Dimensions US Sao Paulo: Evolutionary and genetic origins of diverse trophic specializations in blow flies

口蝇(双翅目：丽蝇科)几乎在所有环境中都可以发现，它们是腐肉和有机物的分解者。少数物种似乎独立进化出一种寄生生活方式，有些物种，如新大陆螺虫，是家畜的毁灭性害虫。这种显著的饮食习惯多样性在全球已知的约1,200种物种中的许多物种中都可以看到，因此，斑潜蝇可以作为理解摄食专业化的进化和遗传起源的极好模型。然而，由于缺乏系统发育、遗传和生态信息，这些不同的捕食习性的起源和进化史还没有得到充分的研究。这项研究将以苍蝇为模型组，解决围绕它们饮食多样性的进化和遗传起源的一个悬而未决的问题。促成苍蝇多样性上升的因素将为生命之树上其他动物群体的类似研究铺平道路，进一步推动我们对全球生物多样性的理解。通过这一项目，将对学生进行国际科学研究方面的培训，将创建一个关于苍蝇的在线数据资源，并将开展几项外联活动，使普通公众参与科学研究。该项目将与来自巴西的科学家合作，从以下三个方面调查不同捕食习性的原因和后果：1)系统进化：重建蝇类的进化史，绘制整个家庭的摄食习性转变图谱；2)遗传/基因组：识别与特定摄食习性相关的基因，并评估它们在家庭、种群和品系水平上是否一致；3)功能：使用CRISPR/Cas9敲除已确定的基因，以确定它们在食物来源选择中的作用。此外，我们将研究肠道微生物群在调节饮食适应和维持不同生物相互作用中的作用。整合多个研究苍蝇血统的实验室的研究结果，将有助于解决围绕不同摄食习惯的起源和维持以及它们对血统多样性的影响的关键问题。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。

Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are found in nearly every environment as decomposers of carrion and organic matter. A minority of species appear to have independently evolved a parasitic lifestyle and some, such as the New World screwworm, are devastating pests of livestock. This remarkable diversity in dietary habit is seen across many of the ~1,200 species known globally, and as such blow flies can serve as excellent models to understand the evolutionary and genetic origins of feeding specializations. However, due to the significant lack of phylogenetic, genetic, and ecological information, the origin and evolutionary history of these diverse feeding habits in blow flies is understudied. This research will use blow flies as a model group to address an unresolved question surrounding the evolutionary and genetic origins of their dietary diversity. The factors contributing to the rise of this diversity in blow flies will pave the way for similar studies in other animal groups across the tree of life, to further fuel our understanding of global biodiversity. Through this project, students will be trained in international scientific research, an on-line data resource for blow flies will be created, and several outreach activities will be undertaken to engage the general public in the science. In collaboration with scientists from Brazil, this project will investigate the causes and consequences of diverse feeding habits across three integrated dimensions of blow fly research: 1) phylogenetic: reconstructing the evolutionary history of blow flies and mapping feeding habit transitions across the family; 2) genetic/genomic: identifying genes associated with specialized feeding habits, and assessing whether they are consistent at the family, population and strain level; and 3) functional: using CRISPR/Cas9 to knockout the identified genes to determine their roles in food source preference. Further, we will investigate the role of the gut microbiome in mediating diet adaptations and maintaining diverse biotic interactions. Integration of research findings across laboratories studying multiple lineages of blow flies, will allow key questions surrounding the origin and maintenance of diverse feeding habits and their impact on lineage diversity to be addressed.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.