Doctoral Dissertation Research: Socio-genomic Evolution of Primates

在这个博士论文项目中，研究者将使用全基因组测序来研究包括数百个参与调节社会行为的基因在内的遗传网络如何在狐猴中进化，狐猴是一种行为和生态多样化的狐猴群体。这项研究将为基因组对社会行为进化的贡献提供新的见解，并进一步了解遗传、生态和社会环境在塑造灵长类动物行为中的复杂相互作用。该项目可能为公共卫生研究提供信息，因为该项目调查的一些遗传途径也涉及各种精神疾病的发展和表现。该项目还将支持灵长类动物保护工作，研究和培训机会，以及研究地点的研究基础设施。研究者将公开其所有数据，从而提供超出本项目范围的额外研究机会。许多先前关于遗传对社会行为影响的研究都集中在检查单个或少数候选基因，并且通常只检查这些基因的蛋白质编码部分。在这里，研究人员将采用全基因组测序的方法，从整体上检查与社会行为的发展和表达有关的基因组区域的进化。“社会基因组”区域)。研究人员将在没有当前参考基因组的情况下，为8种狐猴中的每一种生成全基因组序列。他们还将对一只毛狐猴个体进行测序，以便能够识别狐猴独有的基因序列。随后，他们将整个基因组序列子集到社会基因组区域，并检查其进化。研究人员将具体研究：(1)社会基因组区域是否在狐猴中具有显著的保守性，这表明了进化约束；(2)相对于狐猴社会和生态环境的差异，选择作用于社会基因组区域的蛋白质编码部分的证据；(3)在可能参与调节社会基因组基因表达的区域中存在加速进化。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。

In this doctoral dissertation project, the investigator will use whole genome sequencing to examine how genetic networks encompassing hundreds of genes involved in regulating social behavior have evolved across sifakas, a behaviorally and ecologically diverse group of lemurs. This research will provide new insights about the genomic contributions to social behavioral evolution, and advance knowledge about the complex interplay of genetics, ecology, and the social environment in shaping primate behavior. The project may inform public health research, as some genetic pathways investigated in this project have also been implicated in the development and expression of various psychiatric illnesses. The project will also support primate conservation efforts, research and training opportunities, and research infrastructure at the study locations. The investigator will make all of their data publicly available, thereby providing additional research opportunities beyond the scope of this project. Many previous studies into the influences of genetics on social behavior have focused on examining single or few candidate genes and often only protein-coding portions of those genes. Here the researchers will take a whole genome sequencing approach to holistically examine the evolution of genomic regions involved in the development and expression of social behavior (i.e. "sociogenomic" regions) in sifakas. The researchers will generate a whole genome sequence for each of the eight sifaka species without a current reference genome. They will also sequence a woolly lemur individual to be able to identify genetic sequences that are unique to sifakas. Subsequently, they will subset the whole genome sequences to sociogenomic regions and examine their evolution. The researchers will specifically examine: (1) Whether sociogenomic regions have been significantly conserved across sifakas, indicative of evolutionary constraint (2) Evidence of selection acting on protein-coding portions of sociogenomic regions relative to differences in sifaka social and ecological environments and (3) The presence of accelerated evolution occurring in regions potentially involved in regulating the expression of sociogenomic genes.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.