NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Contributions of linkage, dominance and plasticity to variation in fitness in a wild pedigreed bird population

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。进化有两个要求：(1)个体之间在生存和繁殖方面的差异(达尔文的“适应”概念)和(2)这些差异背后的基因。尽管健康基因是进化的核心原则，但科学家们还没有发现许多导致个体之间健康差异的基因。最近的理论表明，一些适应性差异可能是由基因与环境之间的相互作用造成的，而不是由基因本身的作用造成的。通过跟踪野生自然保护区中4000多只鸟类的健康状况和基因组，这位研究员正在测试基因相互作用是否可以解释个体之间健康状况的差异。这个项目将使用尖端的统计方法，高度准确的适合度估计，最新的基因组组装技术，详细的资源可用性数据，以及数百只佛罗里达灌木鸟的全基因组重新测序。首先，这位研究员将使用数百只佛罗里达灌木鸦个体的基因类型来考虑一对基因变异之间的相互作用对适合度遗传率的影响。接下来，这位研究员将比较不同染色体上可解释的适应性遗传差异，这将需要开发新的方法来组装佛罗里达灌木鸦的性染色体。最后，利用数十年的橡子可获得性数据，这位研究员将比较佛罗里达灌木鸦种群在低资源年和高资源年的遗传力和选择估计。这些方法和结果对预测进化变化具有重要意义。这项工作还将允许研究员开发一个模块，旨在扩大对STEM的参与，因为该模块将在本科生讲课中增加对性别研究领域工作的考虑。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. Evolution has two requirements: (1) differences in survival and reproduction between individuals (Darwin’s concept of “fitness”) and (2) genes underlying those differences. Although genes for fitness are a central tenet of evolution, scientists have not found many genes that contribute to fitness differences between individuals. Recent theory suggests some fitness differences may be caused by interactions between genes with their environment instead of by the action of genes themselves. By tracking the fitness and genomes of 4000+ birds in a wild natural reserve, the fellow is testing whether gene interactions can explain differences in fitness between individuals. This project will use cutting-edge statistical methods, highly accurate estimates of fitness, the latest genome assembly techniques, detailed resource availability data, and whole genome resequencing of hundreds of Florida Scrub-Jays. First, the fellow will consider the impact of interaction between pairs of genetic variants on the heritability of fitness using genotypes from hundreds of individual Florida Scrub-Jays. Next, the fellow will compare the heritable variation in fitness explained across different chromosomes, which will require developing new methods to assemble the sex chromosomes of the Florida Scrub-Jay. Finally, using decades of data on acorn availability, the fellow will compare heritability and selection estimates across low and high resource years in the Florida Scrub-Jay population. The methods and results have important implications for prediction of evolutionary change. This work will also allow the fellow to develop a module aimed at broadening participation in STEM, in that this module will add a consideration of works from the field of gender studies into undergraduate lectures.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.