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

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式为《生活规则》领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。空中运动，如滑翔，在整个生命之树上不断进化。翼板的存在往往促进了滑翔行为：翼板是一种扇动的膜状结构，它允许生物体减缓和控制它们在空气中的下降。虽然这些特征已经进化了很多次，但人们对它们的起源知之甚少。这项研究的核心目标是确定膜结构是如何形成的，比如那些在滑翔生物或病理中发现的膜结构。该研究员将描述壁虎蜥蜴的翼膜发育，它们已经进化了几次滑翔行为和膜。通过从组织水平到基因组水平的发育特征，研究员旨在揭示形成滑行膜所需的基因和途径。奖学金获得者还将通过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，从而接触到不同的受众。通过组织学、细胞凋亡和细胞增殖试验，研究员将描述两种壁虎的组织组成和发育中的patagia的细胞活性，以确定趋同进化的壁虎patagia是趋同的还是不同的细胞和发育模式的结果。为了确定导致翼膜生长的候选基因和调控途径，研究员将使用RNAseq和ATACseq描述胚胎翼膜形成的转录和调控景观。该研究员将通过实验抑制候选基因和途径，以测试它们在patagium发育中的功能。总的来说，这项研究为研究蜥蜴，特别是脊椎动物的膜形成提供了基础。生成的形态和序列数据将公开提供。该奖学金还将促进对研究员进行基因组和发育遗传技术方面的培训，并指导本科生和研究生学习进化发育生物学。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。

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.