NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Phenotypic flexibility may allow long-lived species to buffer from environmental change

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。改变功能特征的能力被认为有利于生活在快速变化的环境中的动物。然而，很少有研究关注生长缓慢，长寿的物种如何利用生理变化来承受长时间发生的环境压力。白色鲟鱼是北美最大的淡水鱼之一，可以活100年以上。由于过度捕捞，不列颠哥伦比亚省弗雷泽河的鲟鱼种群被认为受到威胁或濒临灭绝。随着在弗雷泽河重新放养鲟鱼的努力的增加，重要的是要了解这些鱼如何耐受环境压力，以及哪些遗传成分可能产生气候变化“赢家”。研究员将调查功能特征的灵活性是否有助于缓冲长寿物种未来的环境变化。研究员将在研究期间获得关键的研究经验，从转录组学到整个动物的表现，以及来自不同背景的学生参与研究活动。 该项目采用配对设计，其中个体鲟鱼将被评估的耐受性和跨生物组织水平的性能特征。个人将接受一系列环境压力测试，以确定热和低氧（缺氧）耐受性，并了解耐受性是否在压力源中一致。此外，将测量个体有氧运动能力，以确定耐受性是否对该种属有益。此外，还将评估遗传、生化和组织水平指标，以确定哪些因素决定了整个动物的耐受性和性能。长期以来，比较生理学家一直着迷于耐热和耐缺氧的机制基础。鱼类物种的绝对多样性限制了可以解释热量和氧气限制之间联系的统一解释。因此，这是必要的，以表征和了解以前未研究的长寿物种的耐热性和耐缺氧性在这种情况下，以进一步了解这些过程。此外，了解哪些基因产生有利的表型可以帮助保护措施，以确定耐应激的白色鲟鱼。该研究员计划与当地的保护和教育计划合作，将这项研究的成果传播到学术界之外。该奖项反映了NSF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 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. The ability to change functional traits is thought to benefit animals that live in rapidly changing environments. However, little research has focused on how slow-growing, long-lived species may use physiological changes to withstand environmental stress that occurs over long timespans. White sturgeon, one of the largest freshwater fish in North America, can live upwards of 100 years. Sturgeon populations in the Fraser River, British Columbia, are considered threatened or endangered due to overfishing. As efforts increase to restock sturgeon in the Fraser River, it is important to understand how these fish may tolerate environmental stress, and what genetic components may produce climate change “winners”. The Fellow will investigate if flexibility in functional traits can help buffer a long-lived species from future environmental change. The Fellow will gain critical research experience during the study, ranging from transcriptomics to whole-animal performance, as well as involving students from diverse backgrounds in research activities. This project uses a paired design, wherein individual sturgeon will be assessed for characteristics of tolerance and performance across biological levels of organization. Individuals will undergo a series of environmental stress tests to determine thermal and low oxygen (hypoxia) tolerance and understand if tolerance is consistent across stressors. In addition, individual aerobic performance will be measured to determine whether tolerance is functionally beneficial for this species. Furthermore, genetic, biochemical, and tissue-level metrics will be assessed to determine what anchors whole-animal tolerance and performance. Comparative physiologists have long been captivated by the mechanistic underpinnings of thermal and hypoxia tolerance. The sheer diversity of fish species has limited unifying explanations that could explain the linkage between thermal and oxygen limitations. Therefore, it is imperative to characterize and understand thermal and hypoxia tolerance of a long-lived species previously unstudied in this context to further understanding of these processes. Furthermore, understanding which genes produce favorable phenotypes can help conservation initiatives to identify stress-tolerant white sturgeon. The Fellow plans to partner with local conservation and education initiatives to disseminate the findings of this research beyond academia.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.