NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Molecular dynamics of assembly of the cnidarian stinging cell organelle

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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. Cells are typically described as the smallest unit or “building blocks” of biology, but cells often display sophisticated internal structures that enable specialized functions. Broadly, this research aims to address how cells build themselves by determining the processes involved in the assembly of highly complex features. Specifically, this study will investigate the elaborate internal structures of stinging cells, explosive cells used by cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones, corals) in prey-capture and defense. The focus will be how different stinging cell types are assembled in the model sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. By teasing apart the precise mechanisms that shape the internal features of stinging cells, this project will lend to a better understanding of how complexity can arise and evolve in living systems. Furthermore, the project will enable complementary training in mentorship of undergraduates in the laboratory, public engagement across multiple venues, and implementation of science communication workshops for early-career researchers.The self-organizational processes that result in complex cellular architecture includes both self-assembling protein-protein interactions and genomic regulation through altered gene expression. To establish a framework for how these molecular interactions shape intricate cellular features, this project will use the assembly of nematocysts as a model system. Nematocysts are cnidarian-specific projectile organelles housed in stinging cells that display diverse morphological types, yet they retain a conserved set of structural components that form specific subcellular features (e.g. barbs, spines, tubule). The focus of this research will be to disentangle the molecular and regulatory dynamics that contribute to the production of distinct subcellular features in different nematocyst types by integrating proteomics and protein-protein interaction network analyses, single-cell sequencing, high-resolution imaging, and functional genomic tools. While the project predominantly utilizes the sea anemone Nematostella, the coral Montipora will also be studied to compare the self-organizing processes of similar nematocyst types in two species. This project will include mentoring undergraduates in independent research as well as engaging with the public through an educational social media campaign and in-person community events. Science communication workshops will be designed and conducted at the host institution to train early-career researchers on how to communicate basic research to a K-12 audience.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.