SG: Evolutionary history and contemporary function of alternative supergene haplotypes

甚至在DNA结构被描述之前，生物学家狄奥多西·杜布赞斯基就预测，生物体的复杂特征应该由密切相关的基因组控制。他把这些称为“共同适应基因复合体”，并假设它们应该作为一个单位传递给后代。这些单位将在下一代中保持遗传变异的某些有益组合。今天，基因组测序技术允许研究共适应基因复合体，也称为“超基因”，是否确实控制复杂的性状。激发人类好奇心的一个特征是社会组织。合作行为是如何在社会有机体的DNA中编码的？ 先前的研究发现，一个大型超基因与蚂蚁复杂社会特征的变异有关。这个超基因包含600多个基因的单位，这些基因作为一个单位传递给后代。相比之下，基因组的大部分从一代到下一代被洗牌，以确保后代从每个父母那里继承不同的遗传变异。在多个蚁种中，来自由单个蚁后和她的后代组成的群体的个体具有这种超基因的一个变体。来自包含多个女王的殖民地的个体具有不同的变体。这个项目的目标是了解这些超基因是如何出现并在物种群体中持续存在的，它们是如何工作的，以及基因如何塑造社会行为。这个项目将是理解超基因如何形成以及为什么形成的重要一步，也是发展基因和社会行为之间联系的重要一步。该项目还将为本科生提供研究培训的机会，并向K-12学生介绍社会昆虫的研究。PI和co-PI最近发现了两种蚂蚁，每种蚂蚁都携带三种超基因变体。该项目将利用每个物种的一个种群，其中三个单倍型共存。利用这些群体，研究人员将描述超基因中替代单倍型之间的变异，并将这种变异与功能差异联系起来。特别是，在表型和健身的差异将进行调查与一系列的交配和育雏饲养实验。实验将包括每个物种中具有每个可能基因型的蜂王。此外，通过高密度连锁图谱和全基因组测序，将对备选单倍型之间的基因顺序、重组率和重组抑制区进行评估，以重建其进化史。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Even before the structure of DNA was described, biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky predicted that complex traits of organisms should be controlled by groups of closely related genes. He called these 'coadapted gene complexes' and hypothesized they should be passed on to offspring as a unit. These units would keep certain beneficial combinations of genetic variation intact in the next generation. Today, genome sequencing technology allows research into whether coadapted gene complexes, also called 'supergenes', indeed control complex traits. One such trait that has inspired curiosity in humans is social organization. How are cooperative behaviors encoded in the DNA of social organisms? Previous research found a large supergene associated with variation in a complex social trait in ants. This supergene contains units of more than 600 genes that are passed together as a unit to offspring. By contrast, most of the genome is shuffled from one generation to the next to ensure that offspring inherit different genetic variation from each parent. In multiple Formica ant species, individuals from colonies that consist of a single queen and her offspring have one variant of this supergene. Individuals from colonies that contain multiple queens have a different variant. The goal of this project is to learn how these supergenes appear and persist in groups of species, how they work, and how genes shape social behavior. This project will be an important step in understanding how and why supergenes form, and also in developing the link between genes and social behaviors. This project will also provide opportunities for undergraduate research training and introduce K-12 students to the study of social insects.The PI and co-PI have recently identified two ant species that each carry three alternative variants of the supergene. This project will take advantage of one population of each species where three haplotypes co-occur. Using these populations, the researchers will characterize the variation among alternative haplotypes at the supergene and link that variation to functional differences. In particular, differences in phenotype and fitness will be investigated with a series of mating and brood rearing experiments. The experiments will include queens with each possible genotype in each species. Additionally, the gene order, recombination rates, and zones of suppressed recombination between alternative haplotypes will be assessed through high density linkage mapping and whole genome sequencing, in order to reconstruct their evolutionary history.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.