IntBIO COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Deep Time, Development, and Design: Evolution of shark skin teeth from genotype to phenotype to prototype.

鲨鱼的皮肤在脊椎动物中是独一无二的，因为它含有牙齿状的鳞片，称为真皮小齿，形成了坚硬的外部盔甲。这些牙齿状的牙齿经过数百万年的进化，为鲨鱼配备了具有水动力的皮肤，从而降低了在水中移动的成本。这种先进的流线型目前是一个非常感兴趣的主题，许多行业都试图利用鲨鱼皮技术来创造更高效的游泳设计。这个项目旨在提供对鲨鱼牙齿的完整完整的理解：它们是如何在胚胎鲨鱼中形成的，牙齿形状在多年的进化中是如何变化的，以及哪些牙齿类型最适合减阻和进一步的设计进步。这些知识将使更好地利用鲨鱼皮技术来做出先进的设计解决方案，帮助创造一个更美好、更环保的世界。例如，鲨鱼皮技术的一个可能用途是开发飞机或船只的表面结构，以减少移动时的阻力和减少燃料排放。除了其科学影响外，该项目还通过在广泛的职业阶段支持主要研究人员和受训者，并为跨学科研究中的残疾本科生提供独特的、亟需的无障碍研究培训计划，对STEM工作人员产生影响。鲨鱼皮牙齿或牙齿的形状和图案，经过数百万年的进化，已经在水上运动的功能改进中得到了改进。这个项目致力于研究导致鲨鱼皮肤牙齿类型多样性的进化和发展轨迹，目的是确定鲨鱼为什么在物种之间和物种内有不同形状的牙齿，以及这些不同的牙齿形状可能为这些动物提供哪些功能优势。从一个综合的发育、遗传和进化框架出发，该项目将调查牙齿是如何发育的，以及哪些因素会导致形状的变化。该方法将包括从单细胞转录水平到表型和功能的胚胎牙齿发育研究，以了解哪些关键基因对一系列鲨鱼物种各种牙齿形状的产生至关重要，以及这些形状是如何通过发育创新实现的。目标包括了解在现代和灭绝物种中什么形状对减阻最有效，以便能够对新的工程设计进行建模和测试，以减少空气和水中运载工具和设备的阻力。将3D打印与工程方法相结合，新的鲨鱼表面结构将被用来为不断变化的和更环保的世界创造一种设计解决方案的转变。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 skin of sharks is unique among vertebrate animals because it contains tooth-like scales, called dermal denticles, that create a hard external armor. These tooth-like denticles evolved over millions of years and equip the shark with hydrodynamic skin that reduces the cost of moving through the water. This advanced streamlining is currently a subject of great interest, with many industries attempting to take advantage of shark skin technology to create more efficient swimming designs. This project aims to provide a complete integrated understanding of shark denticles: how they form in embryonic sharks, how denticle shape has changed over years of evolution, and which denticle types are the best for drag-reduction and further design advances. This knowledge will enable better use of shark skin technology to make advanced design solutions that help to make a better and more environmentally friendly world. For example, one possible use of shark skin technology is the development of surface structures on airplanes or boats to reduce drag during movement and decrease fuel emissions. In addition to its scientific impact, this project has impact on the STEM workforce by supporting principal investigators and trainees across a wide range of career stages and by providing a unique, much-needed accessible research training program for undergraduates with disabilities in interdisciplinary research. The shape and pattern of shark skin teeth, or denticles, has been refined over millions of years of evolution for functional improvements in aquatic locomotion. This project addresses the evolutionary and developmental trajectories that have led to a vast diversity of shark skin denticle types with the goals of determining why sharks have different shaped denticles among and within species and what functional advantages these different denticle shapes might offer these animals. From an integrated developmental, genetic, and evolutionary framework, the project will investigate how denticles develop and what factors lead to changes in shape. The approach will include studies of embryonic denticle development from the level of single cell transcriptomics to phenotypes and function to learn what key genes are essential to the production of various denticle shapes in a range of shark species and how these shapes are achieved via developmental innovation. Goals include understanding what shapes are most efficient for drag-reduction in both modern and extinct species to enable modeling and testing of new engineering designs to reduce drag in air- and water-borne vehicles and devices. Combining 3D printing with engineering methods, new shark-inspired surface structures will be used to create a shift in design solutions for a changing and more environmentally friendly world.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.