NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Using research collections to reveal the genomic basis of adaptation to seasonal snow cover in snowshoe hares

本行动资助NSF 2019年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，利用生物馆藏进行研究。该奖学金支持研究和培训将以创新的方式利用生物收集的研究员。许多动物必须适应环境的季节变化。例如，大多数雪鞋兔在冬天从棕色蜕皮为白色，以保持在白雪背景下的伪装。与许多季节性特征一样，这些蜕皮的时间至关重要。过早或过晚变色的兔子与环境不匹配，很容易被捕食者发现。随着气候变化导致冬季变暖，积雪期缩短，雪鞋兔必须调整它们的蜕皮时间。否则，由于捕食增加，种群数量将下降。为了更好地了解季节适应性，该项目将对大量存档的雪鞋兔组织样本进行DNA测序，以确定基因组的哪些部分与适应环境和影响蜕皮时间有关。这项研究解决了进化生物学的基本问题，同时也有助于保护工作：了解哪些基因对适应很重要，将有助于确定哪些种群的雪鞋兔能够适应较短的冬天，哪些种群有消失的危险。外展活动将突出这项研究。存档的组织样本来自博物馆标本、科学家、捕兽者和其他利益相关者的广泛网络。这些地理参考样本来自北美各地的野兔种群，它们经历了各种各样的环境条件，蜕皮时间也各不相同。他将结合两种方法来研究野兔适应的遗传学。景观基因组学将用于将DNA序列数据（从外显子组测序）与气候和环境变量联系起来。然后，分化图谱将用于两个种群和个体在蜕皮时间上存在显著差异的种群，以确定影响颜色季节性变化的基因组区域。在这项研究的基础上，该研究员将开展推广活动，以促进公众对科学的理解，并展示进化生物学与野生动物和保护的相关性。首先，他将创建一个面向学童的雪鞋兔移动博物馆展览。该展览将包括该研究员录制的视频课程，以便与偏远社区的学校共享。其次，该研究员将通过在当地小啤酒厂举行的一系列非正式公开演讲和讨论，将公众与科学家联系起来。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. Many animals must cope with seasonal changes in their environment. Most snowshoe hares, for example, molt from brown to white to maintain camouflage against snowy backgrounds in winter. As with many seasonal traits, the timing of these molts is critical. Hares that change color too early or too late are mis-matched to their environment and easily seen by predators. As climate change leads to warmer winters and shorter periods of snow cover, snowshoe hares must adapt their molt timing. Otherwise, populations will decline due to increased predation. To better understand seasonal adaptation, this project will use DNA sequencing of extensive archived tissue samples of snowshoe hares to determine which parts of the genome are associated with adaptation to the environment and affect molt timing. This research addresses fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while also assisting conservation efforts: knowing which genes are important for adaptation will be helpful in identifying which populations of snowshoe hares can adapt to shorter winters and which populations are at risk of disappearing. Outreach events will highlight the research.The archived tissue samples are sourced from a broad network of museum specimens, scientists, trappers, and other stakeholders. These georeferenced samples come from populations of hares from across North America which experience a wide range of environmental conditions and vary in their molt timing. The fellow will combine two approaches to investigate the genetics of adaptation in hares. Landscape genomics will be used to relate DNA sequence data (from exome sequencing) to climactic and environmental variables. Then, divergence mapping will be used on two populations with significant population- and individual-level variation in molt timing to zero in on the regions of the genome that affect seasonal changes in color. Based on this research, the fellow will develop outreach events which will advance the public understanding of science and demonstrate the relevance of evolutionary biology to wildlife and conservation. First, the fellow will create a mobile museum exhibit on snowshoe hares geared to schoolchildren. This exhibit will include video lessons recorded by the fellow such that it can be shared with schools in remote communities. Second, the fellow will connect the general public with scientists through a series of informal public presentations and discussions at local microbreweries.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.