Can a small mosquito tell us something new about evolutionary physiology? Genetics of photoperiodic response in the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。世界各地的气候正在以前所未有的速度变化，特别是在地球上的温带和极地地区，如北美。气候变化的非生物影响表现在冰川融化、海平面上升、春季提前、生长季延长和秋季推迟。气候变化的生物效应被认为是动物种群向两极转移，以及发育、繁殖、迁徙和冬眠时间的变化。动物主要通过使用光(白天长度)来解释和准备季节变化：较短的白天是冬季到来的高度可靠的信号，而较长的白天是夏天到来的信号。这项建议涉及动物如何在基因上做出反应，即进化，以应对气候变化。这个实验室已经制作了第一张响应日长的遗传图谱，这一提议将表明，响应日长的进化变化是通过改变现有基因发生的，还是涉及到新基因的招募。在这笔赠款中被确定为重要的基因将为确定动物对快速气候变化的总体遗传反应提供基础。了解正确的遗传反应机制，对于预测和减缓疾病媒介从热带到温带的传播，对于评估引入捕食者和寄生虫进行生物防治、农业发展和保护生物多样性的有效性非常重要。该实验室是国家和国际两级气候变化遗传学方面的发言人，也是全世界有关病媒传播疾病的卫生机构的资源。在过去的30年里，这个实验室培养了数百名本科生研究人员，其中一些人后来成为了主要研究机构的教授，另一些人则成为了医生、生物医学研究人员、应用生物学家、律师、记者和教师。所有人都带着对基础研究及其对人类福利和环境的贡献的强烈赞赏离开了实验室。

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." Climates world-wide are changing at an unprecedented rate, especially in temperate and polar regions of the earth such as North America. The non-biological effects of climate change are seen in melting glaciers, rising sea levels, earlier springs, longer growing seasons and later falls. The biological effects of climate change are seen as shifts in animal populations towards the poles and as shifts in the timing of development, reproduction, migration and hibernation. Animals interpret and prepare for seasonal change primarily by the use of light (day length): shorter days are a highly reliable signal for the coming of winter, longer days for the coming of summer. This proposal concerns how animals respond genetically, that is, evolve, in response to climate change. This lab has produced the first genetic map of response to day length and this proposal will show whether evolutionary change in response to day length occurs through alteration of existing genes or involves the recruitment of new genes. The genes that are identified as important in this grant will provide the foundation for identifying the genetic response of animals to rapid climate change in general. Knowing the correct mechanisms of genetic response is important for predicting and mitigating the spread of vectors of disease from tropical to temperate zones, for evaluating the efficacy of introductions of predators and parasites for biocontrol, for agricultural development and for conserving biodiversity. This laboratory serves as a spokesman on the genetics of climate change at the national and international levels and serves as a resource to health agencies concerning vector-borne diseases worldwide. This lab has trained several hundred undergraduate researchers over the last 30 years, some of whom have gone on to become professors at major research institutions, and others who have become physicians, biomedical researchers, applied biologists, lawyers, journalists and teachers. All leave the lab with an intense appreciation of basic research and its contribution to human welfare and the environment.