NSF PRFB FY 2023: Salamanders in the city: An integrative investigation into microevolutionary change

这一行动为NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。城市化和气候变化正在迅速改变栖息地，迫使野生动物要么在当地适应，要么离开，要么面临灭绝的风险。两栖动物是受城市化和气候变化威胁最大的群体之一；然而，两栖动物在进化生物学和基因组学方面的研究不足。因此，将利用北方双线火蜥蜴更好地了解城市化和环境变化的基因组和表型(性状)后果。通过同时测量特征和分析基因组，这位研究员将把负责局部适应的基因和特征联系起来，为基因组如何产生复杂特征提供关键的见解。通过这项研究，该研究员将开发一个长期的物种监测项目，提供城市化对野生种群影响的基本数据，并为本科生提供独特的野外生物学体验。此外，该研究员将利用这项研究来指导本科生和研究生，同时为儿童、青少年和成人开发可获得的和相关的教育材料。采用分层设计，将从不同地区气候的城市、郊区和农村地区抽样。在用长读测序技术组装和注释基因组后，将在全基因组测序之前收集每只火蜥蜴的生理特征和三维形态。利用这些数据，这位研究员将量化种群之间的表型和基因组分化，然后确定潜在的选择基因，并尝试将候选基因组变异与生态相关的表型特征联系起来。通过首先识别与城市化和气候相关的基因组和表型变异，这位研究员增加了他们将候选基因与特征联系起来的能力。该研究员将利用这些数据作为城市驱动的微进化的一个可访问的例子，以开发推广材料，并通过美国自然历史博物馆和其他STEM推广组织建立的现有项目进行传播。该研究员将指导来自赞助机构内外的不同群体的学生，并进行客座演讲，以发展运营研究实验室所必需的技能，同时进一步发展他们的优势(基因组和数量)并获得生物生物学方面的技能。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。

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. Urbanization and climate change are rapidly altering habitats, forcing wildlife to either undergo local adaptation, leave, or risk extinction. Amphibians are one of the most threatened groups by both urbanization and climate change; however, amphibians are understudied in evolutionary biology and genomics. Therefore, the northern two-lined salamander, Eurycea bislineata, will be used to better understand the genomic and phenotypic (trait) consequences of urbanization and environmental change. By simultaneously measuring traits and analyzing the genome, the fellow will link genes and traits responsible for local adaptation to provide critical insight into how genomes give rise to complex traits. Through this research, the fellow will develop a long-term species monitoring program that provides essential data on the impact of urbanization on wild populations and offers a unique field biology experience to undergraduate students. Furthermore, the fellow will use the research to mentor undergraduate and graduate students while developing accessible and relevant educational materials for children, adolescents, and adults.Using a hierarchical design, E. bislineata will be sampled from urban, suburban, and rural areas that differ in the local climate. After assembling and annotating the genome with long-read sequencing technology, physiological traits, and 3-D morphology will be collected from each salamander prior to whole genome sequencing. Using that data, the fellow will quantify phenotypic and genomic differentiation between populations before identifying genes potentially under selection and attempting to link the candidate genomic variants with ecologically relevant phenotypic traits. By first identifying genomic and phenotypic variation associated with urbanization and climate, the fellow increases their power to link candidate genes to traits. The fellow will use the data as an accessible example of urban-driven microevolution to develop outreach materials and disseminate them through existing programs established by the American Museum of Natural History and other STEM outreach organizations. The fellow will mentor a diverse group of students from within and outside the sponsoring institution and give guest lectures to develop the skills essential to running a research lab while further developing their strengths (genomic and quantitative) and acquiring skills in organismal biology.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.