NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: What is the predictability of hybrid genome evolution across ecological contexts?

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。杂交长期以来一直是进化生物学家感兴趣的问题，目的是了解物种在遗传水平上的相互作用如何影响变异。研究杂交可以提供有关感兴趣性状的遗传基础以及新物种如何进化的有价值的数据。杂交可以是自然发生的，也可以是人类活动的结果。这个项目将调查天然和人工诱导杂交的Oncorhynchus鲑鱼物种之间的杂交如何影响这些物种的表型。在整个太平洋西北部，C.clarkii(沿海割喉鲑鱼)和O.mykis(钢头)是具有生态和文化意义的杂交鲑鱼物种，使它们成为本研究的理想物种。这项工作将对进一步科学理解环境如何影响杂交基因组进化以及它的可预测性至关重要。提出的NSF PRFB项目建立在以前工作的基础上，以解决进化生物学研究中的一个主要空白：杂交基因组是如何进化的？这项研究将评估支配杂交如何影响物种适应和进化的生命规则，特别是生态环境如何影响基因组进化。来自实验的、实验室生产的两种鲑鱼杂交的基因组和表型数据将被用来(1)研究杂交如何影响杂交的染色体和基因组格局。来自杂交组合的配对生活史数据将(2)阐明杂交的适合度和表型效应。最后，从自然种群产生的基因组数据将(3)证明是否在自然和人类杂交种群中检测到平行的基因组导入信号。为诊断基因组渗入区的祖先、量化基因流和估计鲑鱼物种杂交事件的时间而开发的计算方法可以跨类群应用。对杂交的适合度和表型后果的研究将为目前缺乏杂交文献的杂交适合度和表型(例如，基因组不亲和性)的遗传基础提供候选。PI还将在计算基因组项目中指导来自代表性不足社区的高中生，分析其他杂交基因组数据集。然后，PI和学生将在一个研讨会上将这项研究的结果共同提交给来自部落、非营利组织和政府机构的保护从业者，这些机构致力于这些杂交分类群的研究。这项工作将扩展这位PI的计算基因组研究技能，进一步促进她作为顶尖研究机构进化遗传学家的职业发展。这一奖项反映了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. Hybridization has been of long-standing interest to evolutionary biologists to understand how species interactions at the genetic level affect variation. Studying hybridization can provide valuable data on the genetic basis of traits of interest, and how new species evolve. Hybridization can occur naturally or as a consequence of human activities. This project will investigate how hybridization among natural and human-induced hybridizing Oncorhynchus trout species affects these species phenotypes. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, O. c. clarkii (coastal cutthroat trout) and O. mykiss (Steelhead) are ecologically and culturally significant trout species that hybridize, making them ideal species for this research. This work will be crucial to furthering scientific understanding of how the environment influences hybrid genome evolution and how predictable it is. The proposed NSF PRFB project builds on previous work to address a major gap in evolutionary biology research: how do hybrid genomes evolve? This research will evaluate the Rules of Life that govern how hybridization affects species’ adaptation and evolution, specifically how ecological context impacts genome evolution. Genomic and phenotypic data from experimental, lab-produced crosses of two trout species will be used to (1) investigate how hybridization impacts the chromosomal and genomic landscape of hybrids. Paired life-history data from hybrid crosses will (2) elucidate the fitness and phenotypic effects of hybridization. Finally, genomic data produced from natural populations will (3) demonstrate if parallel signals of genomic introgression are detected across natural and anthropogenically hybridizing populations. The computational methods developed for diagnosing the ancestry of tracts of genomic introgression, quantifying gene flow, and estimating timing of hybridization events in trout species can be applied across taxa. Research on the fitness and phenotypic consequences of hybridization will provide candidates for the genetic basis of hybrid fitness and phenotypes (e.g., genomic incompatibilities) currently lacking in hybridization literature. The PI will also mentor high school students from underrepresented communities in computational genomic projects, analyzing other hybrid genomic data sets. The PI and students will then co-present the findings from this research to conservation practitioners from tribal, non-profit and governmental institutions working on these hybridizing taxa in a workshop. This work will expand the computational genomic research skills of this PI, furthering her professional development for a career as an evolutionary geneticist for a top research institute.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.