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

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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.