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

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2023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。城市化和气候变化正在迅速改变栖息地，迫使野生动物要么适应当地环境，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，将利用北方双线蝾螈（Eurycea bislineata）来更好地了解城市化和环境变化对基因组和表型（性状）的影响。通过同时测量性状和分析基因组，他将把负责局部适应的基因和性状联系起来，为基因组如何产生复杂性状提供关键的见解。通过这项研究，该研究员将制定一个长期的物种监测计划，为城市化对野生种群的影响提供重要数据，并为本科生提供独特的野外生物学体验。此外，该研究员将利用该研究指导本科生和研究生，同时为儿童、青少年和成人开发易于获取和相关的教育材料。采用分层设计，将从城市、郊区和当地气候不同的农村地区取样双线莲。在利用长读测序技术对基因组进行组装和注释后，将收集每只蝾螈的生理性状和三维形态，然后进行全基因组测序。利用这些数据，该研究员将量化种群之间的表型和基因组差异，然后识别可能在选择下的基因，并试图将候选基因组变异与生态相关的表型性状联系起来。通过首先确定与城市化和气候相关的基因组和表型变异，研究人员增加了将候选基因与性状联系起来的能力。该研究人员将利用这些数据作为城市驱动的微进化的可访问示例，开发外展材料，并通过美国自然历史博物馆和其他STEM外展组织建立的现有项目传播。该研究员将指导来自赞助机构内外的不同学生群体，并提供客座讲座，以培养管理研究实验室所必需的技能，同时进一步发展他们的优势（基因组和定量），并获得有机生物学的技能。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。

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.