NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Inference of the repeated evolution of prothoracic defensive glands in the Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera)

2021 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：拟甲虫科（鞘翅目）前胸防御腺重复进化的推论

• 批准号: 2109735
• 负责人: Adam Rork
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Rork, Adam M
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109735&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. Insects use chemical secretions for many reasons, including to find food, mates, and defend against predators. Chemical secretions from glands are especially important for self-defense. However, our understanding of how glands evolve to produce specific chemicals from specific body regions is limited. Studying gland function and evolution is essential to understanding the evolution of insect chemical defenses, insect communication, and insects as a whole. The Fellow will use darkling beetles and their thoracic defensive glands as a model system for testing hypotheses about mechanisms of insect gland evolution. The outcomes of this research will also aid the development of educational materials for public outreach and K-12 students from diverse backgrounds. This research primarily aims to address whether prothoracic defensive glands (PDGs) of darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), have evolved via parallel or convergent evolution. Specifically, this research aims to examine 1) the genes and gene regulatory networks involved in PDG development across Tenebrionidae, 2) the anatomically homologous features of Tenebrionidae PDGs, and 3) life history traits correlated with PDG evolution. Comparative transcriptomics will be used to compare the gene expression profiles of developing PDGs and glandless body tissue in five representative taxa to identify candidate genes and gene regulatory networks involved in gland development. Morphological investigations examining gland origin points, musculature, locality, gross structure, and ultrastructure will be carried out to examine whether they are derived from homologous or non-homologous tissues. Examining correlations between PDG evolution and life history traits will be carried out using gland occurrence and life history data mined from literature and placed in the context of the latest phylogenetic hypotheses for Tenebrionidae. The Fellow hypothesizes that the PDGs of Tenebrionidae have evolved through parallel evolution (i.e., develop through the co-option of homologous gene regulatory networks and prothoracic tissues), but are not correlated with known life history traits. In addition to collaboration with professional educators, this project will also provide excellent research, training, and scientific communication opportunities for the Fellow as well as for graduate and undergraduate students interested in insect morphology, bioinformatics, and phylogenetics.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为《生活规则》领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。昆虫利用化学分泌物有很多原因，包括寻找食物、交配和抵御捕食者。腺体分泌的化学物质对自卫尤为重要。然而，我们对腺体如何从身体的特定区域进化产生特定化学物质的理解是有限的。研究腺体的功能和进化对于理解昆虫的化学防御、昆虫的交流和昆虫整体的进化是必不可少的。该研究员将使用黑甲虫及其胸部防御腺作为模型系统来测试有关昆虫腺进化机制的假设。这项研究的结果也将有助于为公共宣传和来自不同背景的K-12学生开发教育材料。摘要本研究旨在探讨暗甲虫（鞘翅目：拟甲科）的前胸防御腺（PDGs）是通过平行进化还是趋同进化而来的。具体而言，本研究旨在研究1)在拟甲科中参与PDG发育的基因和基因调控网络，2)拟甲科PDG的解剖学同源特征，以及3)与PDG进化相关的生活史特征。比较转录组学将用于比较5个代表性类群中发育中的PDGs和无腺体体组织的基因表达谱，以确定参与腺体发育的候选基因和基因调控网络。形态学调查检查腺体起源点、肌肉组织、位置、大体结构和超微结构，以检查它们是否来自同源或非同源组织。研究人员将利用从文献中挖掘的腺体发生和生活史数据，并将其置于最新的拟步甲科系统发育假说的背景下，研究PDG进化与生活史性状之间的相关性。该研究员假设拟甲科的PDGs是通过平行进化进化而来的（即通过同源基因调控网络和前胸组织的共同选择而发展），但与已知的生活史特征无关。除了与专业教育工作者合作外，该项目还将为研究员以及对昆虫形态学，生物信息学和系统发育感兴趣的研究生和本科生提供良好的研究，培训和科学交流机会。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。