NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2022: The genetic and molecular rules of trait expression

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对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。本研究旨在了解和识别男性/女性特质表达的“规则”。在整个动物王国里，雄性和雌性之间的差异程度千差万别。尽管如此，表达这些男女差异的遗传和分子过程在很大程度上仍然是个谜。在这个项目中，研究员将研究一个迷人的物种，它是唯一能够解决这些问题的物种，白颈雅各宾蜂鸟（Florisuga mellivora）。白颈雅各宾雄性与大多数雌性有着非常不同的颜色，但20%的雌性在颜色上与雄性相似，在野外与雄性无法区分。这些差异都是在同一物种中表达的，这使得研究人员能够在控制其他因素的同时，发现导致雄性/雌性差异的遗传因素。该项目将在美国和巴拿马同时进行，旨在建立来自不同文化背景的科学家之间的国际合作。通过在尖端基因组和显微镜技术方面的培训，该奖学金将为理解男性/女性多样性、颜色和进化生物学建立一个综合框架。为了确定雄性/雌性二态性的进化规则，该项目将使用跨越生物组织的基因组，发育和表型水平的调查框架。首先，研究员将通过进行全基因组关联研究来测试女性多态性是否与遗传变异有关。其次，由于基因表达和调控最终负责产生这些表型，转录组学将用于鉴定与羽毛颜色相关的基因。通过收集和分析生长过程中的羽毛，研究员将区分与雄性和雌性个体颜色相关的基因。第三，生物体经常使用人眼看不见的微小结构来产生颜色，但令人惊讶的是，人们对基因调节这些结构变化的过程知之甚少。该研究员将使用电子显微镜技术来识别雄性和雌性羽毛之间和内部的结构差异，从而将基因组与表型联系起来。该项目的灵感来自于雅各宾的白脖子，该项目还将培养空间，为来自不同背景的人们扩大一个欢迎科学的地方。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. This research seeks to understand and identify the “rules” of male/female trait expression. Across the animal kingdom, the degree to which males and females differ from each other is profoundly variable. Despite this, the genetic and molecular processes by which these male/female differences are expressed remain largely mysterious. In this project, the fellow will study a fascinating species that is uniquely able to address these questions, the white-necked jacobin hummingbird (Florisuga mellivora). White-necked jacobin males have very different coloration from most females, yet 20% of females are male-like in coloration and are indistinguishable from males in the field. These differences are both expressed in the same species, allowing the fellow to detect the genetic factors underlying male/female difference while controlling for other factors. The project will take place in both the United States and Panama, aiming to build an international collaboration between scientists from diverse cultural backgrounds. By training the fellow in cutting-edge genomic and microscopy techniques, this fellowship will forge an integrative framework for understanding male/female diversity, coloration, and evolutionary biology.To identify the evolutionary rules of male/female dimorphism the project will use an investigative framework that spans genomic, developmental, and phenotypic levels of biological organization. First, the fellow will test whether the female polymorphism is linked to genetic variation by performing a genome-wide association study. Second, because gene expression and regulation are ultimately responsible for producing these phenotypes, transcriptomics will be used to identify genes associated with feather coloration. By collecting and analyzing feathers during their growth, the fellow will distinguish genes associated with color in male vs. female individuals. Third, organisms often use tiny structures invisible to the human eye to produce coloration, yet surprisingly little is known about the process by which genes regulate variation of these structures. The fellow will use electron microscopy techniques to identify the structures that vary across and within males and female feathers, thereby connecting genome to phenotype. Inspired by the white-necked jacobin, this project will also cultivate spaces to expand a welcoming place in science for people from a diversity of backgrounds.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.