MCA: Developing molecular tools to explore mating system diversity in salamanders

MCA：开发分子工具来探索蝾螈交配系统的多样性

• 批准号: 2219081
• 负责人: Rebecca Hale
• 金额: $ 21.85万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Asheville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2219081&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MCA; Developing; molecular; tools; explore

The purpose of this research is for the investigator to learn a molecular technique for parentage analysis, while asking questions about mating behavior in a group of closely related mole salamanders. Working with her research partner, the PI will apply modern gene sequencing methods to develop tools for assigning parentage. The goal is to use the newly developed molecular tools to compare mating behavior across three salamander species, among which mating behavior is thought to vary considerably. This work is part of a broader research program to better understand the evolution of reproductive and social behavior in animals. Mole salamanders are an ideal group for this work. First, the mating and parenting behavior are relatively simple and easy to quantify. Second, although some work on the control of these behaviors has been conducted in frogs, there is no such work in salamanders, so studying another large group of amphibians will provide a more representative picture of the evolution and control of these behavior in amphibians, generally. Finally, the control of these behaviors appears to be highly conserved across vertebrate groups – from amphibians to mammals. Therefore, what we learn about the evolution and control of these behaviors in amphibians can shed light on the same behaviors in birds and mammals, who often have much more complex social interactions associated with mating. The goal of the investigator's research is to understand how social behaviors, including mating and parenting, promote and constrain the evolution of complex life histories. To accomplish this, she focuses on the ecological factors associated with recent evolutionary origins of parental care as well as the cascading effects of parental care on mating behavior and embryonic development. Recently, the PI’s research has expanded to examine how mating and parenting behaviors are intertwined and to ask whether the extent of female multiple mating differs between species with and without parental care. Her experimental work focuses on the mole salamanders (Ambystoma spp.), a group with variable mating patterns and parental care. In order to advance this work, she needs a reliable tool for quantifying polyandry. The PI will learn and implement the RADcap method for quantifying single nucleotide polymorphisms and apply it to parentage analysis in three Ambystoma salamanders that include one caring and two non-caring species. In addition to validating these methods for parentage analysis in this group of organisms, this research will test hypotheses for the maintenance of polyandry and lay the groundwork for future comparative studies.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.

这项研究的目的是让研究人员学习一种分子技术来进行父母分析，同时询问一群密切相关的分子sal剂中的交配行为的问题。与她的研究合作伙伴合作，PI将采用现代基因测序方法来开发分配父母的工具。目的是使用新开发的分子工具比较三种Salamander物种的交配行为，其中包括交配行为差异很大。这项工作是更广泛的研究计划的一部分，旨在更好地了解动物复制和社会行为的演变。 Mole Salamanders是这项工作的理想群体。首先，交配和育儿行为相对简单且易于量化。其次，尽管对这些行为的控制进行了一些工作，但在青蛙中进行了一些工作，但在萨拉曼德人中没有这样的工作，因此，研究另一个大型两栖动物将提供更具代表性的描述，以了解两栖动物在两栖动物中对这些行为的进化和控制。最后，从两栖动物到哺乳动物，对这些行为的控制似乎是高度保守的。因此，我们对两栖动物中对这些行为的演变和控制的了解可以阐明鸟类和哺乳动物的相同行为，这些行为通常与交配相关的社交互动更为复杂。研究者研究的目的是了解社会行为（包括交配和育儿）如何促进和限制复杂生活历史的演变。为此，她重点关注与父母护理的最新进化起源以及父母护理对交配行为和胚胎发育的级联影响相关的生态因素。最近，PI的研究已扩大，以研究如何交配和育儿行为交织在一起，并询问女性有和没有父母护理的物种之间多重交配差异的程度。她的实验性工作着重于摩尔sal（Ambystoma spp。），这是一个具有可变的交配模式和父母护理的群体。为了推进这项工作，她需要一个可靠的工具来量化多一线。 PI将学习并实施RADCAP方法，用于量化单核苷酸多态性，并将其应用于三个Ambystoma salamanders中的父母分析，其中包括一种关怀和两个非载体物种。除了验证这一组织中的这些方法分析这些方法外，这项研究还将检验维持多任务的假设，并为将来的比较研究奠定了基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来获得的支持。