NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: NAVIGATING THE DARK: EXTREMOPHILE SENSORY CONVERGENCE IN CAVES

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。极端微生物是一群令人着迷的有机体，它们生活在严酷无情的环境中；它们在最黑暗的深处和最热的栖息地茁壮成长。这些极端栖息地之一包括洞穴的地下栖息地。恶劣的条件，包括没有光线、频繁的洪水和稀缺的资源，导致了极端的适应，但在不同的动物(如火蜥蜴和鱼类)中却非常相似；这被称为趋同进化。对洞穴收敛进化的研究主要集中在已经丢失的特征(例如眼睛)上，但被认为具有建设性或可加性的特征几乎没有受到关注。建设性特征包括增强的非视觉感官知觉，这被认为是使这些有机体在其环境中有效地移动的关键适应特征。洞穴鱼结构性适应特征的研究已经在水下雷达技术、人类生物技术和包括静脉流量传感器在内的人类医学方面取得了突破。了解这些建设性特征的遗传基础和物理属性将为技术提供更多种类的生物灵感。生物学的未来是在生物计算中，而我们的系统传统上没有为代表不足的群体提供学习这些技能的机会。该研究员致力于通过研讨会、课程设置和积极招聘来培训下一代女性和代表性不足的科学家。该项目的目标是更好地了解洞穴适应鱼类中收敛的肥大(增强的)机械感觉(或触觉)侧线系统的分子基础和形态。侧线使水生生物能够感受到周围水的运动，从而在环境中导航。该项目的第一个目标是研究侧线肥大的分子(基因组和转录)基础。第二个目标是通过行为学实验评估侧向敏感性(即肥大程度)。这位研究员将通过机械感觉敏感性实验来研究侧线肥大的分子基础如何影响侧线的形态和敏感性。这将是第一个使用分子和形态方法研究建设性洞穴适应特征收敛进化的项目，为理解黑暗中极端微生物聚合的多个水平打开了大门。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. Extremophiles are a fascinating group of organisms that live in harsh and unforgiving environments; they thrive in the darkest depths and the hottest habitats. One of these extreme habitats includes the subsurface habitat of caves. Harsh conditions including no light, frequent flooding, and scarce resources have led to extreme adaptations that nonetheless are very similar in different animals (e.g. salamanders and fishes); this is known as convergent evolution. Research on convergent evolution in caves has focused on traits that have been lost (e.g., eyes), but characteristics considered constructive, or additive, have received little attention. Constructive traits include enhanced non-visual sensory perception, thought to be a crucial adaptive trait allowing these organisms to move about efficiently in their environment. Studies of constructive adaptive traits in cavefishes have led to breakthroughs in under-water radar technology, human biotechnology, and human medicine including an intravenous flow sensor. Understanding both the genetic basis and the physical attributes of these constructive traits will provide a greater variety of bioinspiration for technology. The future of biology is in biocomputing, and underrepresented groups are traditionally not provided opportunities by our systems to learn these skills. The fellow is dedicated to training the next generation of women and underrepresented scientists through workshops, class offerings, and active recruitment. The goal of the project is to better understand the molecular basis and morphology of the convergent hypertrophied (enhanced) mechanosensory (or tactile) lateral line system in cave-adapted fishes. The lateral line allows aquatic organisms to feel the movement of the water around them to navigate their environment. The first objective of the project is to examine the molecular (genomic and transcriptomic) basis for lateral line hypertrophy. The second object is to assess lateral sensitivity (i.e., degree of hypertrophy) through behavioral experimentation. The fellow will examine how the molecular basis of lateral line hypertrophy could impact the morphology and sensitivity of the lateral line through mechanosensory sensitivity experiments. This will be the first project to examine convergent evolution of a constructive cave-adaptive trait using both molecular and morphological means, opening the door to understanding the multiple levels of extremophile convergence in the dark.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.