OPP-PRF: Revealing the Genomic Underpinnings of Polar Bear Physiological Adaptations to the Arctic

对基因组基础和生理适应进化的研究可以为气候变化对北极物种的影响提供有价值的见解。本研究的重点是气候变化的标志性象征北极熊及其对高纬度环境的适应。来自近亲熊种的多种类型的基因组数据将用于确定北极熊基因组中构成特定生理适应的区域。这些信息将提高对气候变化对这些动物当前和未来影响的认识。为了扩大北极科学的参与和多样性，该研究员将开展公共宣传，组织研讨会，并指导来自代表性不足群体的学生。虽然棕熊和黑熊每年都会冬眠，以应对季节性猎物的稀缺，但在北极熊适应北极的过程中，冬眠的能力大大降低，甚至几乎完全丧失。考虑到冬眠表型的复杂性以及北极熊和冬眠熊谱系之间的短分化时间，调控序列的进化可能在进化中发挥了特别重要的作用。通过整合功能基因组学和种群基因组学数据集，该项目将描绘三种熊谱系的蛋白质编码和调节进化的景观，并验证调节进化促进了北极熊谱系对北极环境的快速适应的假设。这项工作将促进对北极熊适应的机制和复杂性的理解，北极熊适应北极环境的过程，以及这种顶级捕食者对气候变化的脆弱性。该项目还将为脊椎动物基因组学和进化提供见解，扩大我们对脊椎动物复杂生理特征产生和进化过程的理解。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。

Study of the genomic basis and evolution of physiological adaptations can provide valuable insight on the impacts of climate change on Arctic species. This research focuses on the polar bear, an iconic symbol of climate change, and its adaptation to high-latitude environments. Multiple types of genome data from closely related bear species will be used to identify regions of the polar bear genome that underlie specific physiological adaptations. This information will improve understanding of current and future impacts of climate change on these animals. To broaden participation and diversity in Arctic science, the fellow will conduct public outreach, organize workshops, and mentor students from underrepresented groups.While brown and black bears undergo annual hibernation in response to seasonal prey scarcity, the ability to hibernate has been greatly reduced, and nearly lost altogether, in the adaptation of polar bears to the Arctic. Given the complexity of the hibernation phenotype and the short divergence time between polar bears and hibernating bear lineages, evolution of regulatory sequences may have played a particularly important role in evolution. Through the integration of functional and population genomics datasets, this project will characterize the landscape of protein coding and regulatory evolution in three bear lineages and test the hypothesis that regulatory evolution facilitated the rapid adaptation of the polar bear lineage to Arctic environments. This work will advance understanding of the mechanisms and complexity of polar bear adaptations, the processes by which polar bears adapted to Arctic environments, and the vulnerability of this apex predator to climate change. The project will also provide insights into vertebrate genomics and evolution, broadening our understanding of the processes by which complex physiological traits arise and evolve in vertebrates.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.