RII Track-4: NSF: Novel target-enriched genomic approaches to assess the diversity of Gorgonian Octocorals on Indo-Pacific Mesophotic Coral Reefs

RII Track-4：NSF：用于评估印度太平洋中光珊瑚礁柳珊瑚多样性的新颖靶标丰富基因组方法

• 批准号: 2132235
• 负责人: Sonia Rowley
• 金额: $ 21.5万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-01 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2132235&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RII; Track; NSF; Novel; target

This RII Track-4 Research Fellowship will investigate the diversity of gorgonian octocorals from shallow to mesophotic depths of the Indo-Pacific. The coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific are centres of marine biodiversity, yet the natural resilience and biodiversity of these ecosystems are under great threat. Research at deeper depths (mesophotic coral ecosystems - MCEs; 30 to 150 m) reveal an unknown reservoir of biodiversity and natural resilience in the face of steep environmental gradients. Gorgonian octocorals typically dominate these dynamic environments yet are notoriously difficult to identify in the field and from morphological traits alone. Furthermore, molecular phylogenies have been largely unresolved, until the recent pioneering research of the project host at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), using target-capture genomics. This research will apply these novel genomic approaches to the PI’s rare and highly unique gorgonian collection from the mesophotic and shallow reefs of the Indo-Pacific that she has assembled over several years. Applying these novel genomic approaches to the PI’s collections will move beyond current analytical limitations and add transformative data and phylogenetic accuracy to the Cnidarian tree of life. This fellowship will assist the PI in building capacity at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa by passing on these critical and innovative skills, particularly to underrepresented minority students who are native to the locations of the samples themselves, and are passionate to conserve marine biodiversity of national and international concern. Gorgonian octocorals are an ecologically important, highly diverse yet poorly resolved group, where traditional markers have lacked phylogenetic resolution at the species and higher taxonomic level. Delimiting species and species boundaries across steep environmental clines are critically important in biodiversity assessments for conservation management particularly as the value of mesophotic ecosystems is increasingly recognised. Thus, we test the hypotheses that 1) the gorgonian fauna is distinct and more diverse at mesophotic depths, and 2) that morphotypes within the ubiquitous genus Annella Gray, 1858, are delimited by depth. This will be achieved using the target-capture genomic approach developed by the host, which simultaneously estimates the phylogenetic relationships between taxa over shallow and deep time, population structure within a species, and the delimitation of species boundaries. Using these methods will facilitate the development of a multi-trait (phenotypic and genomic) framework that will 1) assess the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships within and between gorgonian taxa from shallow to mesophotic depths, and 2) present an exemplar case study of population structure and species delimitation in the widely distributed genus, Annella Gray, 1858. This work will develop a multi-trait (morphologic and genomic) framework to advance our understanding of a critically important coral group from some of the world’s most biodiverse yet critically endangered hotspots. This research will provide the opportunity for the PI and a female graduate assistant from a Pacific coastal nation, to learn these highly effective genomic techniques that are specific to corals, and disseminate the results formally (e.g., peer-review publication, MCE Gordon Research Conference) and informally (e.g., social media platforms).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.

这个RII Track-4研究奖学金将调查印度太平洋浅层到中深水的柳珊瑚的多样性。印度洋-太平洋地区的珊瑚礁是海洋生物多样性的中心，但这些生态系统的自然恢复力和生物多样性正面临巨大威胁。在更深的深度（中孔珊瑚生态系统- MCEs； 30至150米）的研究揭示了面对陡峭环境梯度的生物多样性和自然恢复力的未知水库。柳珊瑚通常在这些动态环境中占主导地位，但众所周知，仅从形态特征就很难在野外识别。此外，分子系统发育在很大程度上还没有得到解决，直到最近在国家自然历史博物馆（NMNH）的项目主持人使用目标捕获基因组学进行的开创性研究。这项研究将把这些新颖的基因组方法应用于PI的罕见和高度独特的柳珊瑚收集，这些收集来自印度太平洋的中孔和浅礁，她花了几年的时间收集。将这些新颖的基因组方法应用于PI的藏品将超越当前的分析限制，并为刺胞动物的生命树增加变革性的数据和系统发育的准确性。这项研究金将协助PI在夏威夷大学（网址：Mānoa）进行能力建设，将这些关键和创新的技能传授给代表性不足的少数民族学生，这些学生来自样本所在地，并热衷于保护国家和国际关注的海洋生物多样性。柳珊瑚是一个生态上重要的、多样性高但分类能力差的类群，传统的标记在物种和更高的分类水平上缺乏系统发育分辨率。跨越陡峭的环境曲线划定物种和物种边界对于生物多样性评估和保护管理至关重要，特别是随着中厚生态系统的价值日益得到认识。因此，我们验证了以下假设：1)柳珊瑚动物群在中深水区是独特的，并且更加多样化；2)在1858年普遍存在的Annella Gray属内的形态类型是由深度划分的。这将使用宿主开发的目标捕获基因组方法来实现，该方法同时估计类群在浅时间和深时间之间的系统发育关系，物种内的种群结构以及物种边界的划分。使用这些方法将促进多性状（表型和基因组）框架的发展，该框架将1)评估从浅层到中水深的柳珊瑚分类群内部和之间的系统发育和系统地理关系，2)提供广泛分布的属Annella Gray的种群结构和物种划分的典型案例研究。这项工作将建立一个多特征（形态学和基因组学）框架，以促进我们对世界上一些生物多样性最丰富但极度濒危的热点地区至关重要的珊瑚群的理解。这项研究将为PI和一位来自太平洋沿岸国家的女性研究生助理提供机会，学习这些针对珊瑚的高效基因组技术，并正式（例如同行评审出版物，MCE戈登研究会议）和非正式（例如社交媒体平台）传播结果。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。