NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: An integrative investigation of host-parasite coevolution across heterogeneous environments

这一行动为NSF 2021财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。寄主-寄生虫的相互作用为了解环境条件如何塑造感兴趣的特征提供了一个窗口，这是产生生物多样性的进化过程中的一个关键过程。本研究旨在以北方BobWhite鹌鹑(Colinus Virginianus)及其寄生的羽虱为模型系统，了解这些过程。了解环境变化如何导致特征的变化，有助于洞察物种如何进化并可能对气候变化做出反应。短尾熊是一种具有重要商业价值的猎物物种，在过去的40年里，它们的数量下降了70%。目前，人们对毛虱与毛虱之间的相互作用知之甚少；这项研究将为毛虱如何影响毛虱种群提供洞察力，并可能有助于制定这一物种的保护战略，该物种在25个州受到积极管理。为了更广泛地参与科学，这位研究员将根据这项研究，通过洛杉矶县自然历史博物馆开发公共展览和教育活动。寄生是地球上主要的生活史策略，但我们对宿主和寄生虫的相互作用如何影响野生种群特征的共同进化的了解有限。粗毛虫和它们的羽虱是一个易于处理的野生系统，用于测试当前的进化理论，并开发跨越异质环境的宿主和寄生虫共同进化的新模型。这位研究员将分析表型和生态数据，包括寄生虫的丰度，以评估羽虱是否与短尾寒羊的羽毛表型有关。这位研究员将量化从短毛标本中收集的虱子的表型和遗传数据，以评估羽毛变异对共适应虱子的表型和基因类型的影响。最后，这位研究员将使用共同遗传分析和来自范围广泛的共生双胞胎和虱子的全基因组序列数据来测试当前的共同进化理论，并识别由于环境变化和宿主-寄生虫相互作用而被选择的两个物种基因组的区域。通过这些活动，该研究员将支持对来自代表性不足的STEM团体的两名学生的指导和培训。此外，这项研究将在博物馆环境下进行，并将开发和改进从博物馆标本中收集表型和基因组数据的方法。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 2021, 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. Host-parasite interactions provide a window into how environmental conditions shape traits of interest, which is a key process in evolution that generates biological diversity. This research aims to understand these processes using the Northern Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus, which display impressive geographic variation in feather color) and their parasitic feather lice as a model system. Understanding how environmental change induces changes in traits provides insight into how species evolved and may respond to climate change. Bobwhites are a commercially important game species that have experienced population declines of 70% over the past forty years. The interactions between bobwhites and their feather lice are poorly known; this research will provide insight into how feather lice impact bobwhite populations and may contribute to conservation strategy for this species, which is actively managed in 25 states. To increase broader participation in science, the Fellow will develop public exhibits and educational activities based on this research through the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.Parasitism is the predominant life history strategy on earth, yet we have a limited understanding of how host-parasite interactions shape the coevolution of traits in wild populations. Bobwhites and their feather lice are a tractable wild system for testing current evolutionary theory and developing new models of host-parasite coevolution across heterogeneous environments. The Fellow will analyze phenotypic and ecological data, including parasite abundance, to assess whether feather lice are associated with plumage phenotypes in bobwhites. The Fellow will quantify phenotypic and genetic data from lice collected from bobwhite specimens to assess the effects of plumage variation on the phenotypes and genotypes of coadapted lice. Finally, the Fellow will use cophylogenetic analyses and whole-genome sequence data from range-wide pairs of coadapted bobwhites and lice to test current theories of coevolution and identify regions of the genomes of both species that are under selection due to environmental variation and host-parasite interactions. Through these activities, the Fellow will support the mentorship and training of two students from underrepresented STEM groups. Additionally, this research will be conducted in a museum setting, and will develop and improve methods for collecting phenotypic and genomic data from museum specimens.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.