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Dissecting the phenotypic and functional consequences of sexual selection on sperm competition through a species-specific multigene family

通过物种特异性多基因家族剖析性选择对精子竞争的表型和功能影响

基本信息

批准号：
2129845
负责人：
Jose Ranz
金额：
$ 80万
依托单位：
University of California-Irvine
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 2024-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2129845&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Dissecting phenotypic functional consequences sexual

项目摘要

Species-specific genes have been shown to impact crucial aspects of organismal fertility and viability, mediating adaptation to changing environments. Nevertheless, how these genes exert their effects - as opposed to ancient genes, i.e. those present in multiple species - is poorly understood. This project is focused on the functional characterization of a recently originated, tandemly duplicated gene named sperm-specific dynein intermediate chain (Sdic), which was previously shown to be important for male fertility. This project will help train one postdoc, two graduate students, six undergraduates, and a large number of high-school students in functional and evolutionary analyses of genomes, with a particular focus on inclusion of members of underrepresented groups. All data and materials generated will be made publicly available to the scientific community.Sperm competition is a key mechanism of sexual selection that biases reproductive output upon mating. Although multiple genes are likely to impact sperm competition, a much lower number is relevant in driving its evolution. The Sdic gene is unique to the species Drosophila melanogaster. It is a defective form of another gene named sw, and it is present in multiple copies. Sdic has been shown to impact progeny number in cases with multiple sires of the same female, and the sequence shows signatures of positive selection. In this project, the effects of Sdic on sperm displacement will be analyzed using engineered versions of the Sdic region and fluorescence-based techniques to track the sperm in the female reproductive tract. In addition, the patterns of expression differentiation among different Sdic copies across multiple biological samples will be scrutinized using RNA-seq, which will help reveal how at least some of the Sdic copies have become functionally specialized. Lastly, using proteomic approaches, the novel functional properties of the Sdic product in relation to sw will be uncovered.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.

物种特异性基因已被证明可以影响生物体的生育能力和生存能力的关键方面，介导对不断变化的环境的适应。然而，与存在于多个物种中的古老基因相反，人们对这些基因如何发挥作用知之甚少。本项目的重点是最近发现的一种被称为精子特异性动力蛋白中间链（Sdic）的串联复制基因的功能特征，该基因先前被证明对男性生育能力很重要。该项目将帮助培养一名博士后、两名研究生、六名本科生和一大批高中生进行基因组的功能和进化分析，并特别注重纳入代表性不足的群体的成员。生成的所有数据和材料都将公开提供给科学界。精子竞争是性选择的一个关键机制，它使交配时的生殖产出产生偏倚。尽管多个基因可能会影响精子竞争，但推动其进化的相关基因要少得多。Sdic基因是果蝇独有的。它是另一种名为sw的基因的缺陷形式，存在于多个拷贝中。已有研究表明，在同一雌性具有多个后代的情况下，Sdic会影响后代数量，并且该序列显示出正选择的特征。在本项目中，将使用Sdic区域的工程版本和基于荧光的技术来跟踪女性生殖道中的精子，分析Sdic对精子位移的影响。此外，将使用RNA-seq仔细检查多个生物样本中不同Sdic拷贝之间的表达分化模式，这将有助于揭示至少一些Sdic拷贝如何在功能上特殊化。最后，利用蛋白质组学方法，将揭示Sdic产物与sw相关的新功能特性。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。