NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Uncovering the Genomic and Developmental Basis of Gliding Structure Evolution in Gecko Lizards

该行动资助了2022财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，即调查基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。空中运动，如滑翔，在生命之树上反复进化。滑翔行为往往是由patagia的存在促进：拍打，膜结构，使有机体减缓和控制他们的下降通过空气。虽然这些特征已经进化了无数次，但对它们的发展起源知之甚少。该奖学金的核心目标是确定膜结构如何形成，例如在滑翔生物或病理学中发现的膜结构。研究员将描述壁虎的翼膜发育，壁虎已经进化了几次滑翔行为和膜。通过表征从组织水平到基因组水平的发育，研究员旨在揭示形成滑动膜所需的基因和途径。该研究员还将接触不同的受众，让主办机构的早期本科生参与研究，并通过密尔沃基公共博物馆等机构进行公共宣传。该研究员将描述两种壁虎中发育中的patagia的组织组成和细胞活性，以确定收敛进化的壁虎patagia是否是以下因素的结果：聚合或发散的细胞和发育模式。为了确定候选基因和调控途径，导致翼膜生长，研究员将使用RNAseq和ATACseq表征胚胎翼膜形成的转录和调控景观。研究员将通过实验抑制候选基因和途径，以测试它们在翼膜发育中的功能。总的来说，这项研究为蜥蜴，特别是脊椎动物，广泛地研究膜形成提供了基础。生成的形态学和序列数据将公开提供。该奖学金还将促进在基因组和发育遗传技术方面的研究员培训，以及指导本科生和研究生在进化发育生物学方面的工作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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. Aerial locomotion, such as gliding, has evolved repeatedly across the tree of life. Gliding behavior is often facilitated by the presence of patagia: flappy, membranous structures which allow the organism to slow and control their descent through the air. Although these features have evolved numerous times, little is known about their developmental origins. The core aim of this fellowship is to determine how membranous structures, such as those found in gliding organisms or in pathologies, are formed. The Fellow will characterize patagium development in gecko lizards, which have evolved gliding behavior and membranes several times. By characterizing development from the tissue level to the genomic level, the Fellow aims to uncover genes and pathways required for the formation of gliding membranes. The Fellow will also reach diverse audiences by involving early undergraduate students at the hosting institution in research as well performing public outreach through institutions like the Milwaukee Public Museum.Using histology, apoptosis assays, and cell proliferation assays, the Fellow will characterize the tissue composition and cellular activity of developing patagia in two species of gecko to determine if convergently evolved gecko patagia are the result of convergent or divergent cellular and developmental patterns. To identify candidate genes and regulatory pathways which result in patagium outgrowth, the Fellow will characterize the transcriptional and regulatory landscape of embryonic patagium formation using RNAseq and ATACseq. The Fellow will experimentally inhibit candidate genes and pathways to test their function in patagium development. Collectively, this research provides a foundation for the study of membrane formation in lizards, specifically, and vertebrates, broadly. Generated morphological and sequence data will be made publicly available. This fellowship will also facilitate training the Fellow in genomic and developmental genetic techniques as well as mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in evolutionary developmental biology.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.