IntBIO: Disentangling the genetic, biomechanical, and deep-time factors underlying mammalian skeletal diversity

IntBIO：解开哺乳动物骨骼多样性背后的遗传、生物力学和深层因素

• 批准号: 2128146
• 负责人: Jack Tseng
• 金额: $ 58.53万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 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: 2021-09-15 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2128146&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IntBIO; Disentangling; genetic; biomechanical; deep

Understanding the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors involved in the evolution of life (commonly framed as “nature versus nurture”) is paramount to determining how biodiversity is maintained at different scales in space and time. This project examines the role of nature versus nurture in shaping skeletons and their characteristics, such as evolutionary innovations in locomotion and eating. This multi-faceted project incorporates student research teams assembled from a broad spectrum of educational backgrounds and aims to provide opportunities for students with financial need, those from community colleges, and those from underrepresented backgrounds. A mentoring-research cooperative network composed of faculty, educational program directors, and postdoctoral, doctoral, and undergraduate researchers will provide training at all participant levels. Research findings will be shared broadly through an educator short course and accessible online educational materials.Among the greatest challenges and opportunities for biology in the 21st century is the integration of knowledge from dispersed scientific disciplines into a generalized framework. This project focuses on the intersection of genetic heritability, biomechanics, and deep-time evolutionary patterns to disentangle the relative contributions of each factor in allowing carnivorans (dogs, cats, bears, and relatives) to become the most widespread and diverse mammalian predators in post-dinosaur Earth. To gain insights into the genetic underpinnings of skeletal diversity and variation, the team will use a mouse model to construct a heritability map of phenotypic variation and covariation. This model then will be applied to carnivoran species to test hypotheses that explain skeletal variation in this group. Deep-time patterns over the past 55 million years will then be analyzed in conjunction with long-term patterns of environmental changes such as thermal maxima and ice ages. The expected outcome is an integrated framework to explain the generation and evolution of skeletal variability in a group of diverse and adaptable animals.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.

了解生命进化中遗传和环境因素的相对贡献（通常称为“先天与后天”）对于确定如何在不同的空间和时间尺度上维持生物多样性至关重要。该项目研究了先天与后天在塑造骨骼及其特征（例如运动和饮食方面的进化创新）方面的作用。这个多方面的项目由具有广泛教育背景的学生研究团队组成，旨在为有经济需要的学生、来自社区学院的学生和来自弱势背景的学生提供机会。由教师、教育项目主管、博士后、博士和本科生研究人员组成的指导研究合作网络将为所有参与者级别提供培训。研究成果将通过教育者短期课程和可访问的在线教育材料广泛分享。 21 世纪生物学面临的最大挑战和机遇之一是将分散的科学学科的知识整合到一个通用框架中。该项目侧重于遗传性、生物力学和深层次进化模式的交叉，以理清每个因素在食肉动物（狗、猫、熊和亲戚）成为后恐龙地球上最广泛和最多样化的哺乳动物捕食者方面的相对贡献。为了深入了解骨骼多样性和变异的遗传基础，研究小组将使用小鼠模型构建表型变异和共变的遗传力图。然后，该模型将应用于食肉动物物种，以测试解释该群体骨骼变异的假设。然后，将结合热最大值和冰河时代等环境变化的长期模式来分析过去 5500 万年的深层时间模式。预期成果是一个综合框架，用于解释一组多样化且适应性强的动物骨骼变异性的产生和进化。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

Decoupled evolution of the cranium and mandible in carnivoran mammals

食肉动物颅骨和下颌骨的解耦进化

• DOI: 10.1111/evo.14578
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Evolution
• 影响因子: 3.3
• 作者: Law, Chris J.;Blackwell, Emily A.;Curtis, Abigail A.;Dickinson, Edwin;Hartstone‐Rose, Adam;Santana, Sharlene E.
• 通讯作者: Santana, Sharlene E.