Workshop: From genes to behavior: Functional genetic tools in diverse organisms, Knoxville, Tennessee, July 30 to 3 August, 2020

构成生物体基因组的DNA是如何最终产生具有动态的、适合物种的行为的动物的？DNA差异如何塑造物种内和跨物种的行为的研究仍然是神经科学，进化，行为生态学和精神病学的核心重要性问题。然而，解决行为遗传基础的实验手段传统上仅限于少数实验室适合的物种，导致关注这些动物表现出的少数行为，而其他物种表现出的行为丰富性仍然难以解决。然而，随着新的功能遗传学方法的出现，传统的技术障碍正在消失。随着这种情况的发生，一个新的挑战出现了：如何最好地将这些技术带给那些专注于研究自然行为的研究人员。这个研讨会解决了需要汇集功能遗传学家开发新的方法来操纵基因组与生物学家在不同的行为问题感兴趣。通过将新开发的敏捷功能性遗传工具广泛传播给具有神经行为学和行为生态学专业知识的研究人员，我们将促进行为遗传基础研究的下一个创新时代。组织团队将协调在2020年动物行为学会会议上举办的研讨会。这次年会吸引了不同的研究人员在实验室和现场进行行为研究，并采用从分子方法到人口观察的方法。组织者将强调遗传技术的关键进展，使基因组表型映射跨越物种谱。我们的目标是让研究不同物种行为遗传根源的生物学家能够使用这些新兴技术。通过纳入研究人员通过基因组学工具（EDGE）计划谁在哺乳动物，鸟类，昆虫，两栖动物和鱼类工作的使能发现资助，我们将提供一个广泛的概述遗传操作的方法，特别强调这些工具如何可以用来调查行为的遗传根源和实施它们在不同物种的挑战。会谈和随后的分组讨论的目标将是提供知识和工具，以直接或通过合作设想功能性遗传工具的新用途。虽然不是每个物种或问题都适合功能遗传学方法，但研讨会将为有兴趣熟悉这些技术的广泛参与者提供服务，获得批判性评估新兴文献的能力，并可能制定新的实验方法作为其研究计划的一部分。此外，组织团队预计，与会者和演讲者之间产生的讨论将有助于指导未来的技术创新，并激发新的实验想法。最后，更广泛的影响将集中在纳入来自不同背景的与会者，并讨论将功能性遗传技术纳入课堂设置的策略。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

How do the gigabases of DNA that make up an organism’s genome ultimately yield an animal capable of dynamic, species-appropriate behaviors? The investigation of how DNA differences shape behavior within and across species remains a question of central importance to neuroscience, evolution, behavioral ecology, and psychiatry. Yet, the experimental means to address the genetic basis of behavior have traditionally been limited to a handful of laboratory-amenable species, resulting in focus on a handful of behaviors exhibited by these animals while the behavioral richness exhibited by other species remained intractable. However, with the advent of novel functional genetic approaches, traditional technical barriers are dissolving. As this happens, a new challenge emerges: how to best bring these technologies to the researchers who focus their efforts on studying natural behavior. This workshop addresses the need to bring together functional geneticists developing novel methods to manipulate the genome with biologists interested in diverse behavioral questions. By enabling the widespread dissemination of newly developed, agile functional genetic tools to researchers with expertise in neuroethology and behavioral ecology, we will facilitate the next era of innovation in the study of the genetic basis of behavior.The organizing team will coordinate a workshop, hosted at the 2020 Animal Behavior Society Meeting. This annual meeting engages diverse researchers pursuing the study of behavior in the lab and the field, and employing methods ranging from molecular approaches to population observations. The organizers will highlight key advances in genetic technologies that enable genome to phenome mapping across the species spectrum. Our goal will be to make these emerging technologies accessible to biologists studying the genetic roots of behavior in diverse species. By incorporating researchers funded through the Enabling Discovery through GEnomic Tools (EDGE) program who work in mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, and fish, we will provide a broad overview of approaches for genetic manipulation with special emphasis on how these tools can be employed to investigate the genetic roots of behavior and the challenges of implementing them in diverse species. The goal of the talks and subsequent break-out groups will be to provide the knowledge and tools to envision new uses of functional genetic tools, either directly or through collaboration. While not every species or question will be amenable to functional genetic approaches, the workshop will serve a wide range of attendees interested in becoming familiar with these technologies, gaining the ability to critically evaluate the emerging literature, and potentially instituting novel experimental approaches as part of their research program. Further, the organizing team anticipates that the discussion generated among the attendees and presenters will help guide future technology innovations and spark novel experimental ideas. Finally, the broader impacts will focus on incorporating attendees from diverse background and discussing strategies for incorporating functional genetic technologies in a classroom setting.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.