NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Hybridization and the dynamics of morphological and genetic differentiation during evolutionary radiation

研究员姓名：Isaac Lichter mark提案号：2209393研究题目：杂交和进化辐射过程中形态和遗传分化的动力学赞助科学家和主办机构：Felipe Zapata博士，加州大学洛杉矶分校和Rosita Scherson博士，智利大学这项行动资助了美国国家科学基金会（NSF） 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。变异是自然选择进化过程的原料，但自然变异从何而来？一种假设是，不同物种之间的基因交换或杂交可能会将外来基因带入基因库，并促进可用于进化的变异。这项研究将测试杂交在为一种被称为岩雏菊（Perityleae）的向日葵的多样化部落的进化提供原料方面的作用，这种向日葵被发现在北美和南美的山脉、岛屿和沙漠中。该研究将开发统计工具，利用遗传学、形态学和生态学来了解在岩石雏菊最近的辐射中何时形成杂交。在记录这个群体中产生多样性的机制的过程中，研究员将获得杂交研究和生物信息学方面的宝贵培训，并开发教学模块，免费传播我们如何更好地为子孙后代保护生物多样性。杂交可能通过两种途径在进化辐射中发挥基本作用：一种是在开始时通过杂交播种变异（杂交起源假说），另一种是通过辐射分支成员之间的网络产生变异（合成子假说）。这位研究员将在岩石雏菊受到辐射的三个尺度上测试这些假设，在这些尺度上，新的适应区发生了转变。在亚基因组水平上，研究员将测试异体多倍体岛屿特有植物（Nesothamnus incanus）在跨洋传播到瓜达卢佩岛之前是否出现了杂交。在种群水平上，他将调查南美岩雏菊的杂交起源是否在远距离传播之前促进了变异，从而促进了洲际入侵的成功。在一个不同的分支中，他将把来自拉帕米亚属57个分类群的微观进化和宏观进化数据整合到一个时间校准的框架中，以重建生物群落向北美沙漠转移过程中杂交、遗传分化和形态分化的动态。该研究员将在系统发育方法和国际跨学科合作方面获得宝贵的培训。为了扩大科学研究的参与，研究员将招收本科生，开发英语和西班牙语的双语教学模块，并向研究员分发新颖的工具。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。

Fellow's name: Isaac Lichter Marck Proposal number: 2209393Research title: Hybridization and the dynamics of morphological and genetic differentiation during evolutionary radiationSponsoring scientist(s) and host institution(s): Dr. Felipe Zapata, University of California, Los Angeles & Dr. Rosita Scherson, University of ChileThis 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. Variation is the raw material for the process of evolution by natural selection, but where does natural variation come from? One hypothesis is that gene exchange between different species, or hybridization, could bring foreign genes into the gene pool and boost the variation available for evolution. This research will test the role of hybridization in providing the raw material for evolution in a diverse tribe of sunflowers called the rock daisies (Perityleae) found in mountains, islands, and deserts in North and South America. The research will develop statistical tools to understand when hybrids have formed during the recent radiation of the rock daisies using genetics, morphology, and ecology. In documenting the mechanisms generating diversity in this group, the fellow will gain valuable training in hybridization studies and bioinformatics as well as developing teaching modules for free dissemination about how we can better preserve biodiversity for future generations. Hybridization may play a fundamental role during evolutionary radiations through two pathways: by seeding variation via hybridization at the onset (the hybrid origins hypothesis) and by generating variability through reticulation among members of a radiating clade (the syngameon hypothesis). The fellow will test these hypotheses during the radiation of the rock daisies at three scales in which shifts into new adaptive zones occurred. At the sub genome level, the fellow will test whether hybridization arose prior to trans-oceanic dispersal to Guadalupe Island in an allopolyploid island endemic plant (Nesothamnus incanus). At the population level, the fellow will investigate whether hybrid origins of South American rock daisies boosted variation prior to long-distance dispersal, facilitating intercontinental invasion success. In a diverse clade of interest, the fellow will integrate microevolutionary and macroevolutionary data from 57 taxa in the genus Laphamia into a time calibrated framework to reconstruct the dynamics of hybridization, genetic differentiation, and morphological disparification during a biome shift into the North American Deserts. The fellow will gain valuable training in phylogenetic methods and international interdisciplinary collaboration. To broaden participation in science, the fellow will undergraduates, develop bilingual teaching modules in English and Spanish, and distribute novel tools to fellow researchers.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.