NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020:Connecting development and physiology to understand the evolution of novel sensory systems

该行动资助了NSF 2020财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。所有的生物体都依赖于一系列的感官能力来感知并与它们的世界互动，这些感官能力是为了满足生物体生活方式的特定需求而进化出来的。在动物中，这些感觉是由专门的器官来调节的，这些器官进化成可以探测到某些刺激，比如眼睛可以识别光线，耳朵可以识别声音。这些器官含有专门的细胞，可以检测到特定的刺激，然后将信息传递到动物的神经系统，从而产生特定的行为反应。虽然许多动物都有一套共同的感觉器官，如眼睛和耳朵，但一些感觉专家通过进化出新的感觉器官获得了独特的感觉能力，这些感觉器官在某些环境中提供了竞争优势。海知更鸟就是这样一种生物，它是一种进化出六条腿状附属物的鱼，这些附属物具有感知能力，使它能够定位埋在海底的猎物。这些腿被认为能感知化学和机械刺激，但赋予海知更鸟腿感知能力的细胞和分子尚未被确定，腿进化的发育基础尚不清楚。这项研究的目标是确定分子、细胞和发育程序，这些分子、细胞和发育程序使这些特殊的感觉附属物得以进化。通过研究这些不同寻常的感觉器官的生理、进化和发育，本研究将有助于理解构成感觉过程的各种机制，并更广泛地阐明感觉系统与进化之间的关系。除了科学价值之外，这项工作的影响将通过培训和吸纳新科学家以及通过科学推广而扩大。这个项目跨越了生物组织的层次，将蛋白质、细胞和组织的结构和功能与它们所能实现的特定的、确定生态位的动物行为联系起来。首先，感觉腿中的感觉受体和细胞将使用包括大块组织和单细胞转录谱（Aim1）在内的遗传方法进行鉴定。接下来，我们将利用生物物理方法，包括膜片钳电生理学，结合对活海鸟的定量行为分析，研究腿部感觉细胞的感觉信号转导机制（目的2）。最后，将通过包括RNA测序和组织学在内的技术，在发育中的海知更鸟中研究感觉腿进化的发育基础，目的是揭示其感觉细胞的起源，并阐明其独特形态背后的遗传蓝图（目的3）。该项目更广泛的影响包括为学生提供指导和推广，以增加公众对科学的理解。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 2020, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. To perceive and interact with their worlds, all organisms depend on a host of sensory abilities that evolved to meet the specific demands of the organism’s lifestyle. Among animals these senses are mediated by specialized organs that evolved to detect certain stimuli, such as eyes for light and ears for sound. These organs contain specialized cells that detect a specific stimulus and then transmit that information onward to the animal’s nervous system to enable specific behavioral responses. While many animals share a common set of sensory organs such as eyes and ears, some sensory specialists have acquired unique sensory abilities through the evolution of novel sensory organs that provide a competitive advantage in certain environments. One such organism is the sea robin, which is a fish that has evolved six leg-like appendages with sensory properties that enable it to locate prey buried in the sea floor. These legs are thought to sense both chemical and mechanical stimuli, but the cells and molecules that endow sea robin legs with sensory abilities have not been identified, and the developmental basis for the evolution of the legs is unknown. The goals of this research are to identify the molecules, cells, and developmental programs that have enabled the evolution of these specialized sensory appendages. By examining the physiology, evolution and development of these unusual sensory organs, this research will contribute to the understanding of the diverse mechanisms that underlie sensory processes, and more broadly illuminate the relationship between sensory systems and evolution. Beyond the scientific merit, the impact of this work will be broadened through the training and inclusion of new scientists, and through scientific outreach.This project spans hierarchical levels of biological organization to link the structure and function of proteins, cells, and tissues with the specific, niche-defining animal behaviors they enable. First, sensory receptors and cells in the sensory legs will be identified using genetic approaches including bulk-tissue and single-cell transcriptional profiling (Aim1). Next, the mechanisms of sensory signal transduction used in leg-localized sensory cells will be investigated using biophysical approaches including patch-clamp electrophysiology in combination with quantitative behavioral analysis of live sea robins (Aim 2). Finally, the developmental basis for the evolution of sensory legs will be examined in developing sea robins through techniques including RNA sequencing and histology, with the goal of uncovering the origins of their sensory cells and elucidating the genetic blueprint underlying their unique morphology (Aim 3). Broader impacts of the project include student mentoring and outreach to increase public understanding of science.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.