Evolutionary genetics of speciation and adaptation in Caenorhabditis nematodes

物种如何适应不同的气候条件？其中涉及哪些基因？在分子水平上使生物体的特征与环境相匹配的机制是什么？什么样的遗传特性会导致群体间的不相容繁殖，从而创造和维持不同的物种？这种物种形成的共同“规则”有多普遍？它们的进化有哪些遗传特性？这些是本研究试图回答的关于生物多样性起源的一些基本问题。我们的目标是识别导致适应和自然变异的遗传机制，如热敏行为和生育力，反过来，可以创造和维持物种边界。为了做到这一点，我们利用了一种模式生物的优点，微小的线虫线虫。这些动物在实验室中非常容易驯服，在短短3天内长成成年人，并拥有大多数物种无法使用的大量实验工具。我们的方法将经典的遗传育种和操纵实验与尖端技术相结合，包括下一代测序和基因分型，以快速绘制影响重要性状的DNA序列变化。我们将把这些方法应用到已经存在的动物实验文库中，这些动物的基因组是不同血统的马赛克，我们将构建强大的新实验工具。通过在实验室中进行实时实验进化，再加上基因组测序，我们将准确地破译进化过程实际上是如何在基因组中表现出来的。这项研究将培养高素质的人才，从本科生到硕士和博士，再到博士后，具有适用于生命科学行业，生物医学科学，政府和学术界工作的技能。这项研究的结果预计将广泛有助于我们了解物种对气候变化的进化反应、生物多样性的形成以及对动物发育重要的基本遗传机制。

How do species adapt to different climatic regimes? What are the genes involved, and what are the mechanisms that operate at the molecular level to confer a match between an organism's traits and its environment? What genetic properties induce incompatible reproduction between groups of individuals to create and maintain distinct species? How general are common "rules" of such speciation, and what genetic properties underlie their evolution? These are some of the fundamental questions about the origins of biodiversity that this research seeks to answer. We aim to discern the genetic mechanisms that lead to adaptation and natural variability in traits like thermosensory behaviour and fertility that, in turn, can create and maintain species boundaries. To do so, we exploit the virtues of a model organism, the tiny nematode roundworm Caenorhabditis. These animals are superbly tractable in the lab, growing into adults in just 3 days and having a vast collection of experimental tools unavailable to most species. Our approach combines classic genetic breeding and manipulative experiments with cutting-edge technologies, including next-generation sequencing and genotyping, to rapidly map DNA sequence changes that affect important traits. We will apply these approaches to pre-existing experimental libraries of animals whose genomes are mosaics of distinct parentage and we will construct powerful new experimental tools. By conducting real-time experimental evolution in the laboratory, coupled with genome sequencing, we will decipher exactly how evolutionary processes actually manifest in genomes. This research will train highly-qualified personnel across the diverse range of experiences from undergraduate, to MSc and PhD, to postdoctoral, with skills applicable to jobs in life-science industries, biomedical sciences, government, and academia. The results of this research are anticipated to contribute broadly to our understanding of evolutionary responses of species to climate change and to the formation of biodiversity, as well as to fundamental genetic mechanisms important in animal development.