NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Temperature, Metabolism, and Mitochondrial Evolution in a Diverse Collection of Budding Yeast

这一行动为NSF 2019财年生物学博士后研究奖学金-使用生物收藏进行研究-提供资金。该奖学金支持将以创新方式利用生物收藏的研究员的研究和培训。所有复杂的生命都依赖于每个细胞中包含的多组不同的DNA的功能。线粒体是细胞的隔间，负责产生能量和多种其他功能，它包含一个独立的基因组，编码至关重要的基因。个体之间线粒体DNA的差异会对生物功能产生影响，但人们对这些变化如何有助于新特征的进化知之甚少。这位研究员将利用一组不同的酵母物种的力量，建立可用于任何单一物种组的最大线粒体基因组数据集，并确定线粒体DNA的变异如何促成不同酵母之间的两项关键创新：在不同温度极端下生长的能力，以及即使在氧气存在的情况下也能发酵糖的能力。该项目将极大地促进我们对线粒体基因组如何适应和改变其环境的理解。该研究员将开发一项进化教育推广倡议，为威斯康星州的在家上学社区提供学习资源。线粒体DNA变异有助于不同生物体的复杂表型，但线粒体进化仍然知之甚少。这位研究员建议使用通过Y1000+计划和美国农业部菌株收集产生的基因组资源来测试跨越4亿年进化的1000多种不同的萌芽酵母物种的线粒体基因组进化假说。这位研究员将通过创建和注释从头组装来生成目前可用于任何真核亚门的最大线粒体基因组集合。线粒体序列将被用来检验两个假设：1)线粒体变异是否有助于酵母物种在新的热环境中扩张；2)好氧发酵的进化是否导致对线粒体基因的纯化选择减少。线粒体基因组变异将与每个物种的温度偏好和代谢特征的实验室测试的表型数据相关联。拟议的研究将通过与赞助商和Y1000+项目合作者的会议，与实验室成员的同行和近距离同行指导活动，以及在赞助商的指导下编写资助申请，为研究员提供重要的培训。这位研究员将制定一项针对威斯康星州当地在家教育社区的外联计划，作为未来外联的框架。该研究员将调查家庭学校社区，与家长一起举办外联最佳实践研讨会，并为将进化论纳入家庭学校课程提供建议和教案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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. All complex life relies on the function of multiple distinct sets of DNA contained in each cell. Mitochondria, the compartment of the cell responsible for energy production and multiple other functions, contain a separate genome encoding critically important genes. Differences between individuals in their mitochondrial DNA have consequences on organismal function, but little is known about how these changes contribute to the evolution of new traits. The fellow will leverage the power of a collection of diverse yeast species to build the largest dataset of mitochondrial genomes available for any single group of species and determine how variation in mitochondrial DNA contributes to two key innovations that differ among yeasts: the ability to grow at different temperature extremes and the ability to ferment sugars even in the presence of oxygen. The project will significantly advance our understanding of how mitochondrial genomes adapt and change with their environment. The fellow will develop an evolution education outreach initiative to provide learning resources to homeschooling communities in Wisconsin.Mitochondrial DNA variation contributes to complex phenotypes in diverse organisms but mitochondrial evolution remains poorly understood. The fellow proposes to use genomic resources generated through the Y1000+ Project and the USDA strain collection to test hypotheses of mitochondrial genome evolution in over 1,000 diverse budding yeast species spanning 400 million years of evolution. The fellow will generate the largest collection of mitochondrial genomes currently available for any eukaryotic subphylum by creating and annotating de novo assemblies. Mitochondrial sequences will be used to test two hypotheses: 1) whether mitochondrial variation contributes to the expansion of yeast species into novel thermal environments, and 2) whether the evolution of aerobic fermentation has led to reduced purifying selection on mitochondrial genes. Mitochondrial genome variation will be associated with phenotypic data from laboratory testing of temperature preferences and metabolic traits for each species. The proposed research will provide significant training to the fellow through meetings with the Sponsor and Y1000+ Project collaborators, peer and near-peer mentoring activities with lab members, and writing funding applications with the Sponsor's guidance. The fellow will develop an outreach program to local homeschooling communities in Wisconsin that will serve as a framework for future outreach. The fellow will survey homeschooling communities, workshop best practices for outreach together with parents, and provide suggestions and lesson plans for incorporating evolution into the homeschooling curriculum.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.