NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: A Novel Model System for Studying the Evolution and Genomics of Longevity

该行动资助2021财年美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大生物学中代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。寿命是生命之树中最多样化的特征之一。模式生物的研究表明，遗传学在决定生物体的最大寿命方面发挥着重要作用。然而，基因、环境和生活史相互作用对长寿动物寿命的影响程度仍不确定。蝙蝠提供了一个完美的系统来研究寿命的遗传和超常长寿的进化。该项目将建立一个全面的系统，在多个生物学水平上研究蝙蝠寿命的进化和遗传。此外，该方法和资源将使所有蝙蝠生物学家受益，使研究人员能够全面研究其他特征，如疾病耐受性的进化，以及对环境的遗传适应。这项研究也增加了蝙蝠对环境至关重要的原因，并为人们提供了一个新的角度，让他们对进化和生态学都感兴趣，作为解决新问题和老问题的工具。该项目还将通过引入来自弱势群体和弱势背景的学生来扩大对生物学的参与，并通过一个新的和令人兴奋的视角为公众提供丰富的教育经验，以了解如何将进化作为理解现代世界的工具。该项目以美国西部的9种蝙蝠（Myotis属）为研究对象，包括通过对多个个体进行翼击活组织检查产生原代细胞系，以创造三种新的资源：1)每个物种的染色体水平参考基因组；2)各物种阶段性种群遗传数据；3)细胞系生物库用于体外功能实验。通过分析每个物种的高质量基因组以及种群遗传数据，研究人员将确定哪些基因变化——无论是古代的还是最近的——与蝙蝠的寿命进化有关，这些蝙蝠的寿命要么比它们的祖先更长，要么更短。然后，这些假设将使用来自每个物种的原代细胞系进行验证，从而对长寿和长寿相关特征的进化进行全面研究。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, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Lifespan is one of the most diverse traits across the tree of life. Work in model organisms demonstrates a strong role of genetics in determining an organism’s maximum lifespan. However, the full extent to which genes, environment, and life histories interact to influence the lifespan of particularly long-lived animals is still uncertain. Bats provide the perfect system to study the genetics of lifespan and the evolution of exceptional longevity. This project will establish a comprehensive system for studying the evolution and genetics of lifespan in bats at multiple levels of biology. Moreover, the methodology and resources will benefit all bat biologists by allowing researchers to comprehensively study other traits, such as the evolution of disease tolerance, and the genetic adaptations to their environments. This research also adds to the long list of reasons why bats are vital to the environment and provides a novel angle for people to become interested in both evolution and ecology as tools to address both new and old questions. This project will also broaden participation in biology by bringing in students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as by providing a wealth of educational experiences for the public via a new and exciting view into how evolution be used as a tool to understand the modern world.The project focuses on 9 species of bats (genus Myotis) in the western United States and involves generating primary cell lines from wing-punch biopsies of multiple individuals in order to create three new resources: 1) a chromosome-level reference genome per species; 2) phased population genetic data for each species; and 3) cell line biobanks for in vitro functional experiments. By analyzing the high-quality genomes for each species alongside the population genetic data, the fellow will determine which genetic changes – both ancient and recent – are associated with the evolution of longevity in bats which are either longer- or short-lived than their ancestors. These hypotheses will then be validated using the primary cell lines from each species, enabling a comprehensive study into the evolution of longevity and longevity-associated traits.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.