NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Identifying Olfactory Pathways that Establish Species Barriers in Cichlid Fish

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。本研究探讨慈鲷如何感知信息素来择偶。了解配偶选择的生物学是很重要的，因为配偶选择可以决定一个物种是否会分裂成许多物种，或者密切相关的物种是否会融合在一起成为一个物种。信息素是许多动物，从昆虫到鱼类到灵长类动物，用来选择配偶的关键信号。慈鲷鱼是研究信息素在择偶中的作用的理想模型，因为有数百种慈鲷鱼生活在同一环境中，可以杂交，但它们不会这样做，因为它们的择偶决定。这项研究将揭示慈鲷用来感知信息素和选择配偶的基因和大脑回路。这项研究的结果将与物种保护工作有关，并将推动进化神经科学领域的发展。研究员将邀请来自不同背景的公立大学学生（生物学和非生物学专业）参与研究过程，他们将通过生物学启发的公共艺术装置向更广泛的公众传达他们的发现。女性择偶是性选择的主要驱动力，有助于生殖隔离和物种形成。尽管有证据表明，爆炸性的自适应辐射慈鲷鱼是由女性择偶的一部分，嗅觉（信息素）线索是必不可少的女性择偶慈鲷，很少有人知道慈鲷用于嗅觉伴侣识别的分子或神经机制。这项研究将使用CRISPR介导的基因组操作，单核RNA测序和自动行为跟踪来表征女性择偶和生殖隔离所必需的嗅觉感觉机制。这些机制的研究结果，在更广泛的慈鲷文献和可用的基因组资源的背景下，将提供一个有价值的模型，产生和测试有关脊椎动物的分子进化和物种形成的假设。通过这项研究，研究员将获得最先进的研究方法的经验，并在研究过程中培养本科生学员。该研究员还将获得在整个研究过程中促进科学家和非科学家之间的交流经验，并通过学生主导的公共艺术实践向公众传播进化生物学概念。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是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的支持。

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 investigates how cichlid fish sense pheromones to choose a mate. Understanding the biology of mate choice is important because mate choice can determine whether one species will split to become many species, or whether closely-related species will blend together to become one. Pheromones are a key signal that many animals, from insects to fish to primates, use to choose a mate. Cichlid fishes are the ideal model for studying the role of pheromones in mate choice because there are hundreds of cichlid species that live in the same environment and could interbreed, yet they do not do so because of their mate choice decisions. This research will reveal the genes and brain circuits that cichlid fish use to sense pheromones and choose a mate. Outcomes of this research will be relevant to species conservation efforts, and will advance the field of evolutionary neuroscience. The Fellow will engage public university students (biology and non-biology majors) from diverse backgrounds in the research process who will communicate their findings to the wider public through biology-inspired public art installations.Female mate choice is a major driver of sexual selection contributing to reproductive isolation and speciation. Despite evidence that the explosive adaptive radiation of cichlid fish is driven in part by female mate choice, and that olfactory (pheromone) cues are essential for female mate choice in cichlids, very little is known about the molecular or neural mechanisms that cichlids use for olfactory mate recognition. This research will use CRISPR-mediated genomic manipulation, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and automated behavior tracking to characterize the olfactory sensory mechanisms necessary for female mate choice and reproductive isolation. These mechanistic findings, taken in context with the wider cichlid literature and available genomic resources, will provide a valuable model for generating and testing hypotheses about vertebrate molecular evolution and speciation. Through this research the Fellow will gain experience in state-of-the-art research methods and train undergraduate mentees in the research process. The Fellow will also gain experience in fostering cross-talk between scientists and non-scientists throughout the research process, and practice communicating evolutionary biology concepts to the general public through student-led public art.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.