NSF PRFB FY 2023: The impact of changes in genome structure on diversification in adaptive radiation.

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment, and Phenotypes.该奖学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。 The aim of this project is to examine how changes in genetic organization can interfere with reproduction and fast-track adaptation to the environment, driving the evolution of animal diversity. The Fellow will use genome sequencing, chromosome mapping, and comparison of patterns of DNA change among North American lizards to study how chromosome changes may initiate divergence between groups even when those groups are found in the same place.在此过程中，这项工作将阐明生物多样性是如何产生和维持的，这些发现在这个生物多样性丧失和全球变化的时代尤为紧迫。通过与研究员所在机构的学生互动以及进行实地考察，这项工作还将有助于扩大各种背景的人们参与科学的途径。我们对物种形成理解的一个主要差距涉及最初破坏适应性分化谱系之间基因流动的机制。 This project will shed new light on this question by investigating the role that changes in genome organization may play as early drivers of speciation during adaptive radiation.在该项目的过程中，该研究员将生成高质量的参考基因组，应用同线性作图和细胞遗传学技术来检测结构变化的特征，并测试选择和进化速率变化的证据。 This work will focus on a clade within Anolis lizards as a case study to uncover general principles governing major bursts of diversification as standing genetic variation becomes exposed to different selection regimes through chromosomal fission and fusion.在开展该项目时，研究员将接受与研究目标相关的方法培训，并通过研究指导和基于机构的项目扩大学生接受科学培训的机会。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, 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. The aim of this project is to examine how changes in genetic organization can interfere with reproduction and fast-track adaptation to the environment, driving the evolution of animal diversity. The Fellow will use genome sequencing, chromosome mapping, and comparison of patterns of DNA change among North American lizards to study how chromosome changes may initiate divergence between groups even when those groups are found in the same place. In doing so, this work will illuminate how biodiversity arises and is maintained, findings that are particularly urgent in this age of biodiversity loss and global change. Through engagement with students at the Fellow’s host institution and while conducting fieldwork, this work will also help to expand avenues for participation in science for people of all backgrounds.A major gap in our understanding of speciation concerns the mechanisms that initially disrupt gene flow among adaptively-diverging lineages. This project will shed new light on this question by investigating the role that changes in genome organization may play as early drivers of speciation during adaptive radiation. Over the course of this project, the Fellow will generate high-quality reference genomes, apply synteny mapping and cytogenetic techniques to detect signatures of structural changes, and test for evidence of selection and shifts in evolutionary rates. This work will focus on a clade within Anolis lizards as a case study to uncover general principles governing major bursts of diversification as standing genetic variation becomes exposed to different selection regimes through chromosomal fission and fusion. While carrying out this project, the Fellow will receive training in the methods involved with the aims of the study and expand access to scientific training for students through both research mentorship and institution-based programs.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.