NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: : Investigating the roles of epigenetic and genomic variation through time in the invasion success of Japanese white-eye

该行动资助2021财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。在一个环境中引入非本地物种会对该环境中的许多本地物种产生重大的问题影响。因此，入侵生物学的一个主要目标是了解是什么使一个物种成为成功的入侵者。了解入侵物种的遗传学对于了解是什么使一个物种成为成功的入侵者至关重要。本项目将重点研究入侵物种的表观遗传机制。表观遗传机制可以调节基因表达，从而调节个体的表型，而无需改变DNA序列。由于表观遗传机制在物种对环境变化的反应中发挥着重要作用，因此评估表观遗传机制本身是如何进化的至关重要。历史表观遗传学或博物馆标本表观遗传学这一新兴领域为研究表观遗传机制的进化提供了一个令人兴奋的机会。了解物种的遗传和表观遗传特征有助于预测其入侵能力，从而为减轻物种引入的负面影响提供信息。本研究的主要目的是研究表观遗传和基因组变异在入侵成功中的相对作用，重点研究日本白眼（Zosterops japonicus），也被称为warbling white-eye。日本鸟是一种原产于东亚的鸟类，在20世纪初被引入夏威夷，从此成为岛上数量最多的鸟类。本研究将使用全基因组测序和现代和历史表观遗传学来1)描述日本卷毛瓢虫本地种群和入侵种群的基因组和表观遗传差异的当前水平，2)评估这些种群的基因组和表观遗传差异如何随时间变化，以及3)描述与禽疟疾免疫反应相关的基因的表观遗传变异。禽疟疾是一种导致夏威夷本地鸟类大量死亡的疾病，但日本卷毛瓢虫表现出抗性。这项研究验证了一个中心假设，即表观遗传变异在入侵物种的早期定居中起着重要作用，但随着时间的推移，这种途径变得强大，种群表现出越来越大的基因组差异。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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. The introduction of non-native species in an environment can have significant problematic effects on many native species in that environment. Therefore, a main goal of invasion biology is to understand what makes a species a successful invader. Understanding the genetics of invasive species is considered extremely important to understanding what makes a species a successful invader. This project will focus on epigenetic mechanisms for invasive species. Epigenetic mechanisms can regulate gene expression, and therefore an individual’s phenotype, without any change in DNA sequence. As it becomes increasingly clear that epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in species responses to changing environments, it is essential to assess how epigenetic mechanisms themselves evolve. The nascent field of historical epigenetics, or the epigenetics of museum specimens, provides an exciting opportunity to study the evolution of epigenetic mechanisms. Understanding the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of species can help predict its capacity for invasion, and therefore provide information that can aid in mitigating the negative effects of species introductions.The primary objective of this research is to investigate the relative roles epigenetic and genomic variation in invasion success, focusing on the Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus), also known as the warbling white-eye. Z. japonicus, a bird native to East Asia, was introduced to Hawaii in the early 1900s and has since become the most abundant bird on the islands. This study will use whole genome sequencing and modern and historical epigenetics to 1) characterize current levels of genomic and epigenetic divergence in native and invasive populations of Z. japonicus, 2) assess how genomic and epigenetic divergence changed over time in these populations, and 3) characterize epigenetic variation in genes involved in immune response to avian malaria, a disease that has decimated native Hawaiian bird populations but Z. japonicus shows resistance to. This research tests the central hypothesis that epigenetic variation plays a large role in early colonization by an invasive species but that over time the pathways become robust, and populations show increased genomic divergence.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.