Doctoral Dissertation Research: Unraveling the evolutionary mechanisms associated with miniaturization

博士论文研究：揭示与小型化相关的进化机制

• 批准号: 2120691
• 负责人: Luca Pozzi
• 金额: $ 2.69万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at San Antonio
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2120691&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Unraveling; evolutionary

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Extreme reductions in body size evolved multiple times within the primate tree-of-life, a process thought to provide evidence of convergent evolution. This doctoral dissertation research project compares whole-genomes of various species to examine the evolutionary processes and biological mechanisms explaining body size reduction in primates. The project leverages historical museum collections to generate novel whole genomes of primate species that fill important gaps in genomic databases. All data generated in this study will be made publicly available to provide additional research opportunities beyond the scope of this project. Outcomes of this research contribute to the understanding of primate genetic architecture, thus allowing a better contextualization of human genomic variation in an evolutionary framework. Moreover, this project extends bioinformatics training opportunities and accessibility of students from historically underrepresented groups. Convergent evolution provides compelling evidence that similar ecological circumstances can lead to similar evolutionary solutions. However, the role of natural selection in primate size reduction remains largely speculative, especially when it comes to understanding how adaptation occurs at the molecular level. It is not clear if all small-sized primates evolved such diminutive body size via changes in the same genetic mechanisms, or if changes in different combinations of genes and regulatory sequences could lead to similar outcomes. To address these standing questions, the investigators will compare whole-genome sequences of pairs of miniaturized and non-miniaturized species to access the degree of similarity at the molecular level and the pace of molecular evolution. This research specifically examines: (1) whether small-sized species share the same genetic underpinnings; (2) evidence of selection acting in protein-coding regions related to size reduction in primates. Results will inform a more general understanding of how bodily variation arises over evolutionary history.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.

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。在灵长类动物的生命树中，身体尺寸的极端缩小进化了多次，这一过程被认为提供了趋同进化的证据。这个博士论文研究项目比较了各种物种的全基因组，以研究解释灵长类动物体型缩小的进化过程和生物学机制。该项目利用历史博物馆收藏来生成灵长类物种的新的全基因组，填补基因组数据库的重要空白。本研究中生成的所有数据将公开提供，以提供超出本项目范围的其他研究机会。这项研究的结果有助于了解灵长类动物的遗传结构，从而使人类基因组变异的进化框架中更好的情境化。此外，该项目扩大了生物信息学培训机会，并使历史上代表性不足的群体的学生能够获得。趋同进化提供了令人信服的证据，表明相似的生态环境可以导致相似的进化解决方案。然而，自然选择在灵长类动物体型缩小中的作用在很大程度上仍然是推测性的，特别是当涉及到理解适应如何在分子水平上发生时。目前尚不清楚是否所有小型灵长类动物都是通过相同遗传机制的变化进化出如此小的体型，或者基因和调控序列的不同组合的变化是否会导致类似的结果。为了解决这些长期存在的问题，研究人员将比较小型化和非小型化物种对的全基因组序列，以获得分子水平的相似程度和分子进化的速度。这项研究具体考察了：（1）小型物种是否具有相同的遗传基础;（2）与灵长类动物体型缩小相关的蛋白质编码区的选择证据。研究结果将有助于更全面地了解进化史上身体变异是如何产生的。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。

项目成果

Evolutionary deja-vus: Why did size reduction evolve multiple times within primates?

进化似曾相识：为什么灵长类动物的体型缩小会多次进化？

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: American journal of physical anthropology
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Penna, A;Herrera, JP;Pozzi, L
• 通讯作者: Pozzi, L