NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Elucidating genomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic consequences of genetic rescue in wild populations

2021 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：阐明野生种群基因拯救的基因组、转录组和表型后果

• 批准号: 2109675
• 负责人: Cinnamon Mittan-Moreau
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Mittan, Cinnamon S
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109675&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

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. This project leverages genetic information to improve the conservation of endangered species. A common strategy to support endangered species is moving individuals from large populations to small, inbred populations, known as “human-assisted migration”. This exchange reduces inbreeding, and often improves the health of recipient populations. However, the exact causes of improvement are poorly understood. Mitchell’s Satyr Butterfly (MSB) is a critically endangered butterfly, and one of many species for which human-assisted migration is being considered. Mitchell’s Satyr once had a large range in the US, but is now restricted to a few small populations Michigan and larger, but disconnected populations in Mississippi. This project will identify the underlying genetic processes that improve offspring health in recipient populations (Michigan) to inform decisions about the choice of populations for assisted-migration. This novel approach will be broadly applicable to conserving other endangered species with disconnected populations that might otherwise face extinction. The fellow will also lead a two-day workshop for undergraduates to increase involvement and inclusion of groups historically underrepresented in field biology. The workshop includes finding and applying to research opportunities, hands-on training in field techniques, and professional network building to increase the students’ confidence in pursuing research.Research in model systems suggests that inbred individuals are more sensitive to stress, and that genes with reduced genetic variation due to inbreeding are more likely to be expressed mal-adaptively in stressful environments, leading to decreased fitness. This project investigates the mechanism and extent by which assisted migration (gene flow) mitigates this inbreeding-stress relationship in wild populations by (1) Quantifying genomic variation and inbreeding across the range of MSB through whole-genome sequencing of all extant populations; (2) Assessing critical-thermal maxima in Michigan, Mississippi, and outcrossed individuals, thus linking heat-tolerance phenotype to genomic variation (1), and transcriptional response; and (3) Quantifying gene expression during heat stress in Michigan, Mississippi and outcrossed individuals to identify the genes and molecular pathways most impacted by the inbreeding-stress relationship, and those potentially rescued by outcrossing. The fellow will receive training in whole-genome bioinformatics, receive mentorship in manuscript preparation, and will build collaborative relationships with conservation managers.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.

该行动资助2021财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。这个项目利用遗传信息来改善濒危物种的保护。支持濒危物种的一种常见策略是将个体从大型种群转移到小型近交种群，即所谓的“人类辅助迁徙”。这种交换减少了近亲繁殖，并经常改善接收种群的健康状况。然而，人们对改善的确切原因知之甚少。米切尔的色狼蝴蝶（MSB）是一种极度濒危的蝴蝶，也是人类辅助迁徙的许多物种之一。米切尔的萨蒂尔曾经在美国有很大的范围，但现在仅限于密歇根州的几个小种群和密西西比州的更大但不相关的种群。该项目将确定改善受助人口（密歇根州）后代健康的潜在遗传过程，以便为选择辅助迁移人口的决定提供信息。这种新方法将广泛适用于保护其他种群分离的濒危物种，否则这些物种可能面临灭绝。该研究员还将领导一个为期两天的本科生研讨会，以增加在野外生物学中历史上代表性不足的群体的参与和包容。工作坊内容包括寻找及应用研究机会、实地技术训练及建立专业网络，以增强学生从事研究的信心。模型系统的研究表明，近亲繁殖的个体对压力更敏感，由于近亲繁殖而减少遗传变异的基因更容易在压力环境中表达不适应，从而导致适应度下降。本项目研究了辅助迁移（基因流）减轻野生种群近交-应激关系的机制和程度，方法如下：(1)通过对所有现存种群的全基因组测序，量化MSB范围内的基因组变异和近交；(2)评估密歇根州、密西西比州和异交个体的临界热最大值，从而将耐热表型与基因组变异(1)和转录反应联系起来；(3)定量分析密州、密西西比州和异交个体在高温胁迫下的基因表达，确定受近交-胁迫关系影响最大的基因和分子通路，以及可能通过异交拯救的基因和分子通路。该研究员将接受全基因组生物信息学方面的培训，接受手稿准备方面的指导，并将与保护管理人员建立合作关系。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。