Research Initiative Award: The Dark Side of Light: Gestational and Generational Impact of Light Pollution on Brain Development and Fecundity

通过研究启动奖的历史黑人学院和大学本科课程(HBCU-UP)为历史黑人学院和大学的初级和职业生涯中期教师提供支持，这些教师正在建立新的研究项目或重新定向和重建现有的研究项目。预计该奖项有助于进一步提高教师的研究能力和有效性，并改善所在机构的研究和教学。这一奖项授予哈里斯-斯托州立大学，支持教职员工和本科生努力确定光照对子代怀孕期间时间中断的影响。由于光提供了许多使生物体适应其环境的信息，因此努力了解光污染在哺乳动物胚胎编程中的不利和有害影响是重要的，这是保护生物多样性的基础研究。这个项目的总体目标是阐明怀孕期间的表观遗传学和激素机制，以及与后代大脑发育和繁殖力的关系。据推测，不合时宜的妊娠光是一个可改变的因素，使夜间和白天哺乳动物的母胎表观遗传和激素信号失去同步，从而使成年后代容易出现认知和生殖健康不良。因此，利用白天活动的草鼠和夜间活动的啮齿动物模型，将进行转录分析，以确定海马区、行为和生殖神经在子宫中的发育。该项目还旨在确定通过恢复妊娠期间的褪黑素和皮质酮节律来重置表观遗传和激素损伤的分子基础。预计拟议的研究将产生关于怀孕期间受光影响的神经和生殖系统发育的基础的新知识。本科生参与这个项目，再加上努力组织学生参与和社区组织的研讨会，旨在提高对光污染影响的认识，可能会提高哈里斯-斯托州立大学的机构地位。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness and improve research and teaching at the home institution. This award to Harris-Stowe State University supports faculty and undergraduate research experiences in their efforts to determine the impact of light exposure on chrono-disruption during pregnancy in off-spring. Given that light provides much of the information that enables organisms to adapt to their environment, it is important that efforts are made to understand the adverse and deleterious effects of light pollution in mammalian fetal programming, serving as a foundational study to preserving biodiversity. The overall goal of this project is to elucidate the epigenetic and hormonal mechanisms during pregnancy and the relationship with offspring brain development and fecundity. It is hypothesized that mistimed gestational light is a modifiable factor that desynchronizes maternal-fetal epigenetic and hormonal signaling across both nocturnal and diurnal mammals, which predisposes adult offspring to poor cognitive and reproductive health. Thus, utilizing diurnal grass rat and nocturnal rodent models, transcriptional analyses will be conducted to identify hippocampal, behavioral, and reproductive neurodevelopment in utero. The project also aims to identify the molecular basis to reset epigenetic and hormonal impairments by restoring melatonin and corticosterone rhythm during gestation. It is anticipated that the proposed studies will generate new knowledge regarding the underpinnings of neurological and reproductive system development as affected by light during gestation. The engagement of undergraduate students in this project, coupled with efforts to organize student-involved and community organization workshops aimed at raising awareness of the impact of light pollution, are likely to enhance the institutional prominence of Harris-Stowe State University.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.