RUI: Genetic Architecture of Juvenile Hormone Sensitivity

可塑性是生物体适应环境条件的能力。许多昆虫都有一种极端的可塑性，称为多表型，在这种可塑性中，它们会表现出新的身体部位来应对环境压力，比如缺乏食物或人口密度增加。这些不同的形态通常由幼体激素（JH）控制。尽管在整个生物体中起作用，但只有某些组织对JH的变化做出反应。本项目将阐明黑腹果蝇JH敏感性的遗传基础，并将其作为其他昆虫多表型发育控制的模型。该项目将作为基于课程的本科研究经验（CURE）在纽约市立大学巴鲁克学院的三年级学生中实施，该学院是纽约市的一所主要本科院校。该项目的主要影响是增加了本科生对研究的参与，特别是来自STEM中历史上代表性不足的群体的学生。基于课程的研究项目增加了学生在个别导师数量较少的机构中的机会。通过将研究项目作为课程的一部分提供给学生，这些学生可能既没有意识到校园里的机会，也没有意识到参与的好处，他们可能不会被选为个人导师，也可能没有经济独立，无法从有偿工作中抽出时间参与研究。该项目将增加巴鲁克学院毕业生加入STEM劳动力队伍。该项目的预期意义有三个方面：首先，通过测量果蝇遗传参考小组（DGRP）中所有基因型果蝇的敏感程度，可以确定组织间激素敏感性的自然变化范围。这将加强对单一物种内发育可塑性的理解。其次，将通过对变异数据进行全基因组关联研究（GWAS）来确定人群中激素敏感性的遗传结构。这将阐明参与激素反应的基因的基因组分布。最后，JH通路的新遗传靶点将被发现，这将大大增加这一关键通路中已知功能靶点的数量。这一发现将提供从激素受体水平到下游效应基因的JH靶点层次，显著推进JH生物学领域。这些目标基因将用于研究不同发育时间点和六足动物的JH。

Plasticity is an organism's ability to adjust to environmental conditions. Many insects have an extreme version of plasticity called polyphenism, in which they exhibit new body parts in response to environmental stressors such as a lack of food or increased population density. These alternative morphologies are often controlled by juvenile hormone (JH). Despite acting across the entire organism, only certain tissues respond to changes in JH. This project will elucidate the genetic basis of JH sensitivity in Drosophila melanogaster and use this as a model for the developmental control of polyphenisms in other insects. This project will be implemented as a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) for third year students at Baruch College, CUNY, a Primarily Undergraduate Institution in New York City. The major impact of this project is increased undergraduate participation in research, particularly students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM. Course-based research projects increase the opportunity for students at institutions with small numbers of available individual mentorships. By offering research projects as part of a course, they are made available to students who may not be aware of either the opportunities on campus or the benefits of participation, may not otherwise be chosen for an individual mentorship, and may not have the financial independence to take time away from paying jobs to participate in research. This project will result in an increase in Baruch College graduates joining the STEM workforce.The expected significance of the proposed project is three-fold: First, the range of natural variation in hormone sensitivity across tissues will be determined by measuring the degree of sensitivity in all of the genotyped flies in the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP). This will bolster understanding of developmental plasticity within a single species. Second, the genetic architecture of hormone sensitivity within a population will be determined by performing a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) on the variation data. This will elucidate the genomic distribution of genes involved in hormonal response. Lastly, new genetic targets of the JH pathway will be discovered, greatly increasing the number of known functional targets in this critical pathway. This discovery will provide a hierarchy of JH targets from the hormone receptor level to the downstream effector genes, significantly advancing the field of JH biology. These target genes will then be used to study JH at different developmental time points and across hexapods.