NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: The genetics, physiology and evolution of diapause

这一行动为NSF 2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。具体地说，这位研究员将研究一种名为滞育的生物现象的遗传学、生理学和变异性。滞育是昆虫生命周期中发育暂停或停滞的时期。这位研究员将利用东方幼虫来研究滞育。云杉幼虫是一种生活在北美北部森林中的飞蛾物种，覆盖从新英格兰到阿拉斯加的范围，主要利用滞育来度过严冬。这位研究员将研究滞育蛾变异的分子机制。这项工作很重要，因为云杉芽孢虫是北美最具破坏性的害虫之一，其35年的周期性暴发对木材行业以及北方生态系统和碳动态具有破坏性影响。拟议的活动将帮助我们了解滞育是如何在其范围内发生变化的，这将对潜蝇范围扩大的预测模型至关重要，并有助于制定强有力的害虫管理计划。反过来，这将帮助依赖北方森林的社区。此外，这位研究员还将开展几项外联活动，让高中生和大学生参与昆虫研究。滞育是许多昆虫生活史的一个基本特征，因为它允许昆虫在暂时的恶劣环境条件下生存。对滞育表型的精确计时和调控可能会产生景观层面的后果，既有好的(即昆虫可以成为重要的食物来源)，也有坏的(即有害的有害物种)。该研究员将(1)描述区分滞育和非滞育云杉幼虫的生理、转录和染色质景观变化，(2)确定滞育表型这种变化的遗传基础，以及(3)研究自然选择如何作用于整个范围内的滞育特定调控景观。本研究综合了生理学、功能基因组学、遗传图谱和群体遗传学等多个学科，对滞育表型进行了研究。这项研究的结果将使我们能够预测滞育表型如何在不同水平上受到调控，以及自然选择如何作用于这些调控机制。该研究员将接受在与生态相关的物种中整合生理和遗传研究的培训。此外，该研究员将组织一个功能基因组学研讨会，使先进的分子技术可供非模型研究人员使用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Specifically, the fellow will investigate the genetics, physiology, and variation of a biological phenomenon called diapause. Diapause is a period of suspended or arrested development during an insect’s life cycle. The fellow will use the eastern sprice budworm to study diapause. The spruce budworm is a moth species living in the boreal forest across northern America, covering a range from New England to Alaska, and mostly uses diapause to survive harsh winters. The fellow will investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying variation in diapausing moths. This work is important because the spruce budworm is one of the most destructive pest species in North America, and its 35-year cyclical outbreaks have devastating effects on the lumber industry as well as the boreal ecosystem and carbon dynamics. The proposed activity will help us understand how diapause changes across it’s range, which will be crucial for predictive models of budworm range expansion and benefit a robust pest management plan. This in turn will aid the communities depending on the boreal forests. Furthermore, the fellow will engage in several outreach activities to engage high school and college level students with insect research.Diapause is a fundamental feature in the life cycle of many insects, as it allows insects to survive temporary harsh environmental conditions. Precise timing and regulation of the diapause phenotype can have landscape level consequences, both good (i.e. insects can be important food sources), and bad (i.e. harmful pest species). The fellow will (1) characterize the physiological, transcriptomic and chromatin landscape changes that differentiate diapausing and non-diapausing spruce budworm, (2) determine the genetic basis of this change in the diapause phenotype, and (3), investigate how natural selection acts on the diapause specific regulatory landscape across the range. This study integrates across multiple science disciplines including physiology, functional genomics, genetic mapping and population genetics to study the diapause phenotype. Results from this study will allow us to predict how the diapause phenotype is regulated at different levels, and how natural selection acts on these regulatory mechanisms. The fellow will receive training in integrating physiological and genetic research in an ecological relevant species. Furthermore, the fellow will organize a functional genomics workshop to make advanced molecular techniques available to non-model researchers.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.