Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Reproduction in Songbirds

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。神经肽促性腺激素释放激素-I（GnRH-I）对所有脊椎动物的生殖调控至关重要。雀形目鸣禽GnRH-I调节的研究一直是光周期、青春期、应激、营养、听觉信息处理、迁徙、全球气候变化和进化生物学等学科研究的焦点。到目前为止，鸣禽体内GnRH-I的分析仅限于测量可通过免疫细胞化学方法可视化的蛋白质，因此无法完全确定不同环境因素如何以及何时影响GnRH的合成，从而影响生殖。由于缺乏对GnRH基因序列的了解，测量信使RNA（mRNA）的调节一直是不可能的，尽管在过去的20年中进行了许多尝试来鉴定它，因此，环境、社会、生理和进化对鸣禽GnRH调节的影响的相对作用仍然是个谜。最近克隆的GnRH-I cDNA从两个鸣禽物种，现在允许分子分析鸣禽繁殖的调节的物理，社会和生理线索，沿着精细尺度分析选择压力作用于鸣禽的生殖系统。预计这一建议将导致在分子水平上对生殖的神经内分泌控制的理解发生范式转变。如果要成功地进行濒危物种的圈养繁殖，以及了解全球变化对野生物种繁殖的影响，那么在这一水平上对繁殖的理解是至关重要的，所获得的结果的智力价值包括促进我们对鸣禽季节性繁殖调节和脊椎动物青春期调节的理解。拟议研究的更广泛影响包括在美国实验室培训少数民族本科生和研究生，鼓励少数民族本科生参与研究和科学会议。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The neuropeptide gonadotropin-releasing hormone-I (GnRH-I) is critical for the regulation of reproduction in all vertebrates. Study of the regulation of GnRH-I in passerine songbirds has been the focus of studies on subjects as diverse as photoperiodism, puberty, stress, nutrition, processing of auditory information, migration, global climate change and evolutionary biology. Until now, analysis of GnRH-I in songbirds has been limited to measurement of protein that can be visualized by immunocytochemical methods, so it has been impossible to fully determine how and when different environmental factors influence the synthesis of GnRH and thus affect reproduction. Measurement of messenger RNA (mRNA) regulation has been impossible because of lack of knowledge of the GnRH gene sequence, despite many attempts in the last 20 years to identify it. Thus, the relative roles of environmental, social, physiological and evolutionary influences upon songbird GnRH regulation have remained enigmatic. The recent cloning of GnRH-I cDNA from two songbird species will now permit molecular analysis of the regulation of songbird reproduction by physical, social and physiological cues, along with fine scale analysis of selection pressures acting upon the reproductive system of songbirds. It is expected that a paradigm shift in the understanding of the neuroendocrine control of reproduction at the molecular level will occur as a result of this proposal. Understanding of reproduction at this level is critical if captive breeding of endangered species is to be successful, and for effects of global change on reproduction in wild species to be understood.The intellectual merit of the results obtained includes advancement our understanding of the regulation of seasonal breeding in songbirds and the regulation of puberty in vertebrates as a whole. The broader impacts of the proposed research include training of minority undergraduate and graduate students in labs in the USA, encouragement of minority undergraduate participation in research and scientific meetings.