NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: What is the predictability of hybrid genome evolution across ecological contexts?

该行动资助了2021财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，即调查基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。杂交一直是进化生物学家长期以来的兴趣，以了解物种在遗传水平上的相互作用如何影响变异。研究杂交可以提供有关感兴趣性状的遗传基础以及新物种如何进化的宝贵数据。杂交可以自然发生，也可以是人类活动的结果。本计画将探讨自然杂交与人为诱导杂交的虹鳟鱼种间的杂交如何影响这些鱼种的表型。在太平洋西北部，O。C. clarkii（coastal cutthroat trout）和O. mykiss（钢头）是生态和文化上重要的鳟鱼品种杂交，使他们成为这项研究的理想物种。这项工作对于进一步科学地理解环境如何影响杂交基因组进化以及它的可预测性至关重要。NSF的PRFB项目建立在以前的工作基础上，以解决进化生物学研究中的一个主要空白：杂交基因组如何进化？这项研究将评估生活的规则，管理杂交如何影响物种的适应和进化，特别是生态环境如何影响基因组进化。来自实验室生产的两种鳟鱼杂交的基因组和表型数据将用于（1）研究杂交如何影响杂交后代的染色体和基因组景观。从杂交中获得的成对生活史数据将（2）阐明杂交的适合度和表型效应。最后，从天然群体产生的基因组数据将（3）证明是否在天然和遗传杂交群体中检测到基因组渐渗的平行信号。开发的计算方法用于诊断基因组渗入的大片的祖先，量化基因流，并估计鳟鱼物种杂交事件的时间可以应用于整个类群。对杂交的适应性和表型后果的研究将为杂种适应性和表型的遗传基础提供候选者（例如，基因组不相容性）。PI还将在计算基因组项目中指导来自代表性不足社区的高中生，分析其他混合基因组数据集。PI和学生将共同提出这项研究的结果，从部落，非营利组织和政府机构的保护从业人员在这些杂交类群的工作在一个研讨会。这项工作将扩展这位PI的计算基因组研究技能，促进她作为顶级研究机构进化遗传学家的职业生涯的专业发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Hybridization has been of long-standing interest to evolutionary biologists to understand how species interactions at the genetic level affect variation. Studying hybridization can provide valuable data on the genetic basis of traits of interest, and how new species evolve. Hybridization can occur naturally or as a consequence of human activities. This project will investigate how hybridization among natural and human-induced hybridizing Oncorhynchus trout species affects these species phenotypes. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, O. c. clarkii (coastal cutthroat trout) and O. mykiss (Steelhead) are ecologically and culturally significant trout species that hybridize, making them ideal species for this research. This work will be crucial to furthering scientific understanding of how the environment influences hybrid genome evolution and how predictable it is. The proposed NSF PRFB project builds on previous work to address a major gap in evolutionary biology research: how do hybrid genomes evolve? This research will evaluate the Rules of Life that govern how hybridization affects species’ adaptation and evolution, specifically how ecological context impacts genome evolution. Genomic and phenotypic data from experimental, lab-produced crosses of two trout species will be used to (1) investigate how hybridization impacts the chromosomal and genomic landscape of hybrids. Paired life-history data from hybrid crosses will (2) elucidate the fitness and phenotypic effects of hybridization. Finally, genomic data produced from natural populations will (3) demonstrate if parallel signals of genomic introgression are detected across natural and anthropogenically hybridizing populations. The computational methods developed for diagnosing the ancestry of tracts of genomic introgression, quantifying gene flow, and estimating timing of hybridization events in trout species can be applied across taxa. Research on the fitness and phenotypic consequences of hybridization will provide candidates for the genetic basis of hybrid fitness and phenotypes (e.g., genomic incompatibilities) currently lacking in hybridization literature. The PI will also mentor high school students from underrepresented communities in computational genomic projects, analyzing other hybrid genomic data sets. The PI and students will then co-present the findings from this research to conservation practitioners from tribal, non-profit and governmental institutions working on these hybridizing taxa in a workshop. This work will expand the computational genomic research skills of this PI, furthering her professional development for a career as an evolutionary geneticist for a top research institute.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.