Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology: Development, Evolution, and Genetic Mechanisms of Regionalization within the Axial Column: Aves (Birds) as a Model System

生物学博士后研究金：轴柱内区域化的发展、进化和遗传机制：鸟（鸟类）作为模型系统

• 批准号: 2209218
• 负责人: Grace Musser
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Musser, Grace
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2209218&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Postdoctoral; Research; Fellowship; Biology; Development

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 addresses fundamental questions in biology; namely, how new anatomical traits evolve and how living things diversify. Although developmental differences in the structure and regionalization of the axial column (the spine, shoulders and hips) determine much of diversity in vertebrates, the function, structure, evolution and development of these differences remains largely unknown. This comparative study of how regions of fused vertebrae develop and evolve in birds is thus critical to better understand the genetics behind these processes, how the skeleton develops, and how vertebrates evolve. New collections will be produced for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), which will support future research in vertebrate evolution, and will provide the fellow with training necessary to pursue cutting-edge interdisciplinary research across paleontology and biology. This research will provide mentorship and training to undergraduate interns. The fellow will use this research as a springboard to contribute to NMNH public and educational programs as well as complete 36 classroom visits to minoritized middle and high schools.The fellow will use genetic, developmental, morphological, and evolutionary approaches to study the evolution of the axial skeleton of birds in a phylogenetic and functional context, describe and track the development of vertebral column fusion across five bird species, and study gene expression associated with these fusions across these species. Birds provide an excellent study system in which to study trait evolution in the vertebral column, as their spine presents a natural experimental system with three regions of bone fusion, each with a separate evolutionary history. Few studies regarding the axial column have focused on birds, and those that have largely examine only one study species. The fellow will conduct fieldwork and work with breeders to collect avian embryos and chicks and will use phylogenetic analysis and fossil calibration, specimen imaging and dissection, creation of ontogenetic series, and transcriptome extraction and analysis to investigate evolutionary and ecological, developmental, and gene expression rules regarding the axial column. The fellow will receive training in these methods, and broader impacts will focus on broadening participation of the public, undergraduates and minoritized students in STEM.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.

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。这项研究解决了生物学中的基本问题;即新的解剖特征如何进化以及生物如何多样化。虽然中轴柱（脊柱、肩部和臀部）的结构和区域化的发育差异决定了脊椎动物的许多多样性，但这些差异的功能、结构、进化和发育在很大程度上仍然未知。因此，对鸟类融合椎骨区域如何发育和进化的比较研究对于更好地理解这些过程背后的遗传学，骨骼如何发育以及脊椎动物如何进化至关重要。史密森尼国家自然历史博物馆（NMNH）将制作新的藏品，这将支持脊椎动物进化的未来研究，并将为研究员提供必要的培训，以追求跨古生物学和生物学的尖端跨学科研究。这项研究将为本科实习生提供指导和培训。该研究员将利用这项研究作为跳板，为NMNH公共和教育项目做出贡献，并完成36次对少数民族初中和高中的课堂访问。该研究员将使用遗传，发育，形态和进化方法研究鸟类中轴骨骼的进化，在系统发育和功能背景下，描述和跟踪五种鸟类脊柱融合的发展，并研究这些物种中与这些融合相关的基因表达。鸟类提供了一个很好的研究系统来研究脊柱的性状进化，因为它们的脊柱是一个天然的实验系统，有三个骨融合区域，每个区域都有一个单独的进化历史。很少有关于轴柱的研究集中在鸟类身上，而那些主要研究的是一个物种。该研究员将进行实地考察，并与育种工作，收集鸟类胚胎和小鸡，并将使用系统发育分析和化石校准，标本成像和解剖，创建个体发生系列，转录组提取和分析，以调查进化和生态，发育和基因表达规则关于轴柱。该研究员将接受这些方法的培训，更广泛的影响将集中在扩大公众，本科生和少数民族学生在STEM中的参与。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。