Research Initiation Award: The Epigenomic Adaptations of Marine Mammal Skin

研究启动奖为历史上黑人学院和大学的初级和中级职业教师提供支持，他们正在建立新的研究项目或重新定向和重建现有的研究项目。预计该奖项将有助于进一步提高教师的研究能力和效率，改善家庭机构的研究和教学，并使本科生参与研究经验。授予汉普顿大学的奖项有可能扩大在几个领域的影响。本科生将接受最先进的分子和生物信息学方法的培训，并与海洋和环境科学的研究生合作。PI将在课堂上整合他们的研究。海洋哺乳动物皮肤的研究对于理解基础生物学具有重要意义。海洋哺乳动物皮肤对水生环境具有显著的适应性，包括高细胞周转率和增强的伤口愈合能力。该项目的中心目标是研究这些适应是否反映在表观基因组中，特别是microRNA（miRNAs），这是一种在基因表达调控中具有普遍作用的非编码短RNA。迄今为止，miRNAs尚未被表征为大多数非模式生物，包括海洋哺乳动物。该项目将利用小RNA测序技术和已建立的分析平台来鉴定和定量普通海豚（Tursiops truncatus）皮肤组织中的miRNAs，并与具有不同生活史的哺乳动物物种进行谱系间比较。在强调海洋哺乳动物皮肤对水生环境中生命的表观基因组适应的同时，该项目还将评估使用miRNAs作为生物标志物监测海洋哺乳动物健康的可行性。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improve research and teaching at the home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to Hampton University has potential to broaden impacts in several areas. Undergraduate students will receive training in state of the art molecular and bioinformatics methods and work with graduate students from marine and environmental science. The PI will integrate their research in the classroom. The study of marine mammal skin has important implications with respect to understanding fundamental biology.Marine mammal skin has remarkable adaptations to the aquatic environment, including high rates of cell turn over and increased wound-healing capabilities. The central goal of this project is to investigate whether these adaptations are reflected in the epigenome, specifically in microRNAs (miRNAs), which are non-coding short RNAs with a pervasive role in gene expression regulation. To date, miRNAs have not been characterized for most non-model organisms, including marine mammals. This project will make use of small RNA sequencing technology and established analytical platforms to identify and quantify miRNAs in common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) skin tissues and conduct inter-lineage comparisons with mammal species that have contrasting life histories. While highlighting the epigenomic adaptations of marine mammal skin to life in the aquatic environment, this project will also assess the feasibility of using miRNAs as biomarkers for monitoring marine mammal health.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.