CAREER: INTEGRATING FORM AND FUNCTION IN THE COEVOLUTION OF COPULATORY TRAITS

本职业项目研究蛇的雄性和雌性生殖结构的结构、功能和共同进化。生殖结构对一个物种的进化成功起着最关键的作用。然而，缺乏基本的知识，特别是关于女性生殖结构的机械功能以及它们在生殖过程中如何与男性结构相互作用的知识。该项目采用综合方法，包括开发新的分析工具来解释生殖结构的物理特性，特别是组织如何排列以及它们如何发挥功能。蛇是解决这些问题的一个很好的模型系统，因为它们有不同的生态和交配系统，可以用来测试这些力量如何塑造生殖结构的形态和功能多样性以及它们之间的相互作用的假设。首席研究员将培训一些本科生，目标是招募来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的学生。这些学生将学习一系列生物技术，发展数学和工程技能，并完成可发表的论文项目。学生们还将参与创建一个播客，向公众传播有关生殖的知识，并将为芒特霍利奥克学院的一个展览准备3d打印材料。该项目将涉及一名博士后学者的参与和培训，他将帮助指导学生。首席研究员将组织一个由来自五个地区学院的不同人文和生物学教授参加的教师研讨会，以促进跨学科的对话，并开发一门关于生殖生物学和社会方面的新的跨学科本科课程；课程材料将提供给其他人。该综合项目研究了蛇的雄性和雌性生殖形态，以了解生物力学、形态和感觉特征如何影响具有直接机械相互作用的交配结构的功能和共同进化。该项目通过明确包括在这类研究中通常不考虑的雌性交配结构的分析，为生殖器共同进化研究制定了一个全面的框架。本项目采用高分辨率三维形状测量、基于材料科学的生殖道组织表征、生殖器感觉神经支配量化等方法，研究蛇的交配器官、雌雄生殖器官形状共变及其与生活史特征的融合。整合这些多种数据流来测试特定的假设，为区分生殖器共同进化的机制提供了一个新的框架，这些机制仍然难以解开。该项目由霍利奥克山学院（Mount Holyoke College）的一名拉丁裔初级教员领导。霍利奥克山学院是一所性别包容的女子学院，为多元化的学生群体提供服务，在送女性攻读生命科学博士课程方面有着良好的记录。这项研究将通过支持旨在增加荣誉论文发表参与的暑期研究项目，增加有色人种本科生对科学的参与。学生将与数学系的教师合作，参加生物学和数学相结合的独立研究经验。此外，博士后研究员将在文理学院的独立实验室运营的各个方面得到指导。学生和博士后每年都要参加全国会议，展示他们的研究成果。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。

This CAREER project addresses the structure, function and coevolution of male and female reproductive structures in snakes. Reproductive structures perform the most critical function for the evolutionary success of a species. However, fundamental knowledge, particularly of the mechanical functions of reproductive structures in females and how they interact with male structures during reproduction, is lacking. This project uses an integrative approach that includes developing new analytical tools to explain the physical properties of reproductive structures, particularly how the tissues are arranged, and how they perform their functions. Snakes are an excellent model system in which to address these questions, because they have diverse ecologies and mating systems that can be leveraged to test hypotheses about how these forces shape the morphological and functional diversity of reproductive structures and their interactions. The principal investigator will train a number of undergraduate students, targeting recruitment of students from groups underrepresented in science. These students will learn a range of biological techniques, develop skills in mathematics and engineering, and complete publishable thesis projects. The students will also participate in the creation of a podcast to disseminate knowledge about reproduction to the general public and will prepare 3-D printed materials for an exhibit at Mount Holyoke College. The project will involve participation and training of a post-doctoral scholar who will help mentor students. The principal investigator will develop a Faculty Seminar involving diverse Humanities and Biology professors from five regional colleges to foster cross-disciplinary conversations and to develop a new interdisciplinary undergraduate course on biological and social aspects of reproduction; the course materials will be made available to others. This integrative project examines male and female reproductive morphology in snakes to understand how biomechanical, morphological, and sensory features affect function and coevolution of copulatory structures that have a direct mechanical interaction. The project develops a comprehensive framework for the study of genital coevolution, by explicitly including analysis of female copulatory structures which are often not considered in this type of research. The project uses high-resolution 3-D shape measurements, materials science-based characterization of reproductive tract tissues, and quantification of sensory innervation of genitalia to examine snake copulatory organs and genital shape covariation between males and females, as well as their integration with life history traits. The integration of these multiple data streams to test specific hypotheses provides a novel framework to differentiate among mechanisms of genital coevolution that remain difficult to disentangle. The project is led by a Latina junior faculty member at Mount Holyoke College, a gender-inclusive women’s college that serves a diverse student body and has a strong track record of sending women to PhD programs in the life sciences. This research will increase engagement of undergraduate students of color in science by supporting summer research programs aimed to increase participation in honors theses leading to publication. Students will participate in a combined biology and mathematics independent research experience in collaboration with faculty from the Math Department. In addition, a postdoctoral researcher will be mentored in all aspects of running an independent laboratory at a liberal arts college. Students and the post-doc will travel to national conferences to present their research every year.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.