DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Genome-wide SNP genotyping to identify candidate loci responsible for divergence in temperature performance within a population of thermophilic cyanobacteria

进化生物学的一个中心目标是了解生态多样性是如何在自然种群中产生和维持的。黄石国家公园的白溪是蓝细菌的家园，蓝细菌是一种叫做Mastigocladus laminosus的细菌，它在37到55摄氏度的温度梯度下生长。虽然大部分基因组的基因是相同的，但这个种群的成员已经专门适应了在克里克沿岸不同的温度区域生活。这项研究采用了一种创新的方法，利用基因组数据来确定与种群内自然变异有关的基因的强候选基因，这些基因与温度有关。由此确定的基因可以揭示与热适应有关的基因的类型、功能和数量。关于生态位如何在种群中发展的基本问题是：1)涉及哪种基因，调控基因还是蛋白质编码基因？2)基因编码什么？3)有多少基因参与其中？这项研究的独特重点是面对明确的环境梯度的自然种群，允许对基因组成和环境变量之间的关联进行强有力的分析。蒙大拿州大学多元文化暑期本科生研究经验入门和HHMI支持的蒙大拿州学生综合学习经验的本科生研究人员已经并将继续有机会在实验室进行这项研究。这项研究将开发一个关于微生物和进化的教育模块，供国际生态项目使用，该项目吸引了来自美国和拉丁美洲的高中生到黄石公园。

A central goal of evolutionary biology is understanding how ecological diversity arises and is maintained in natural populations. White Creek, in Yellowstone National Park, is home to a population of the cyanobacterium, Mastigocladus laminosus, which grows along a thermal gradient of 37 to 55ºC. While genetically identical for much of the genome, the population has members that have specialized and adapted to live at different temperature zones along creek. This study takes an innovative approach using genomic data to identify strong candidates for genes responsible for natural variation within the population and that are temperature associated. Genes thus identified can shed light on the type, function, and number of genes involved in thermal adaptation. Fundamental questions regarding how ecological niches develop in populations are: 1) what kind of genes are involved, regulatory or protein encoding? 2) What do the genes encode? and 3) How many genes are involved? This study's unique focus on a natural population facing a well defined environmental gradient, allows a robust analysis of associations between genetic makeup and the environmental variable. Undergraduate researchers in the University of Montana's Introductory Multicultural Summer Undergraduate Research Experience and the HHMI supported Montana Integrative Learning Experience for Students have had and will continue to have opportunities to work in the lab on this study. An educational module on microbiology and evolution will be developed from this study for use by Ecology Project International, which draws high school students from all over the U.S. and Latin America to Yellowstone NP.