Doctoral Dissertation Research: Using natural hybridization to investigate patterns of primate gene regulation

基因调控影响一个基因在生物体中表达的时间、地点和数量。本博士论文项目将研究不同狒狒物种DNA甲基化（影响基因表达水平的DNA化学标记）的变化，以更好地了解DNA甲基化变化如何影响基因表达，DNA甲基化如何在物种之间分化，以及自然选择在这一过程中的作用。特定基因表达方式的差异被认为是解释灵长类物种之间许多差异的重要因素，包括人类谱系独有的一些特征。因此，关于基因调控和表达的新数据可以帮助我们进一步了解我们自己物种的发展。该项目将支持K-12、本科和研究生阶段的学生培训和指导，并开发和传播使用基因组方法的跨学科方法，这些方法可以应用于许多其他研究领域。该项目将通过利用来自肯尼亚野生狒狒种群的150只成年狒狒的遗传混合来研究遗传祖先对DNA甲基化的影响。混合个体（祖先来自两个不同但密切相关的分类群的狒狒）提供了测试来自不同祖先的遗传变异如何在共同环境中影响DNA甲基化的机会。此外，由于研究人群受到最近和历史混合事件的影响，它可以用来检验关于古人类与现代人类混合遗产的假设。最后，该项目将询问物种之间DNA甲基化的差异是否转化为基因表达的变化，测试将DNA甲基化与性状变异联系起来的模型的一个重要假设。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Gene regulation affects when, where, and how much a gene is expressed in an organism. This doctoral dissertation project will study changes in DNA methylation (a chemical mark on DNA that influences gene expression levels) in different baboon species, to better understand how changes in DNA methylation affect gene expression, how DNA methylation has diverged between species, and the role of natural selection in this process. Differences in how particular genes are expressed are thought to be important in explaining many differences among primate species, including some traits that are unique to the human lineage. Novel data on gene regulation and expression can therefore help to advance knowledge about the development of our own species. The project will support student training and mentoring at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels, and the development and dissemination of interdisciplinary approaches using genomic methods that can be applied to a number of other fields of study.This project will investigate the effects of genetic ancestry on DNA methylation by leveraging genetic admixture in 150 adult baboons from a wild baboon population in Kenya. Admixed individuals (baboons with ancestry from two distinct but closely related taxa) provide the opportunity to test how genetic variation from different ancestries influences DNA methylation when placed in a common environment. Furthermore, because the study population has been affected by both recent and historical admixture events, it can be used to test hypotheses about the legacy of archaic hominin admixture with modern humans. Finally, this project will ask whether between-species differences in DNA methylation translate to changes in gene expression, testing an important assumption of models that link DNA methylation to trait variation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.