NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2022: C.R.I.C.K.E.T.S. – Circadian Rhythms In Crickets: linKing Evolution, Timing, and Selection

这一行动为NSF 2022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。这项研究主要围绕昼夜节律(即日常生物节律)展开。昼夜节律在自然界中随处可见--从最广为人知的昼夜节律系统(例如，睡眠-觉醒周期)到意想不到和令人惊讶的(例如，某些细菌的昼夜节律)--地球上的所有生命都进化成了适应白天和黑夜的生物。昼夜节律由细胞起搏器控制，一个关键特征是这些起搏器允许生物体预见环境变化。这一点很重要，因为它允许生物体将他们的行为和生理安排在一天中最大限度地存活和健康的时间段的高峰和低谷。例如，植物准备进行光合作用来准备阳光。海胆在夜间觅食，并在捕食者活动开始之前撤退到避难所。这项工作的目标是确定昼夜节律(最基本的生命规则之一)如何影响适应环境变化的过程。这位研究员将使用声学广告太平洋野外蟋蟀(Teleogrolus Ocean Anicus)来研究这些问题，这种蟋蟀被一种致命的、窃听的寄生虫苍蝇(Ormiaochracea)寄生。声学广告(例如直翅目动物和无尾两栖动物)是实现健身的重要组成部分，通常受昼夜节律控制。由于广告也将信号者置于寄生和/或捕食的风险中，个体必须同时平衡信号的健康益处和生存成本。因此，虽然节奏的时机在一种环境中可能是有利的，但环境压力的变化可能会破坏这种进化平衡。这位研究员将揭示昼夜节律如何塑造一些最常见的生态相互作用：雄性和雌性之间的相互作用，竞争雄性之间的相互作用，以及宿主和寄生虫之间的相互作用。具体地说，这位研究员将结合机器学习、行为分析和遗传分析来回答与三个主题相关的问题：(1)女性的昼夜节律如何促进或抑制男性的昼夜节律的适应性进化。(2)在快速进化的背景下，昼夜节律如何影响男性与男性之间的竞争。(3)宿主免疫节律如何调节感染风险和寄生虫攻击。这位研究员将接受他们研究领域的世界专家的培训，并共同协调每年为少数族裔和低收入女性确定的中学生举办的免费夏令营。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 2022, 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. This research centers around circadian rhythms (i.e., daily, biological rhythms). Circadian rhythms are found everywhere in nature – from the most widely recognized circadian systems (e.g., the sleep-wake cycle) to the unanticipated and surprising (e.g., circadian clocks in some bacteria) – all life on Earth has evolved to cope with day and night. Circadian rhythms are governed by cellular pacemakers, and a key feature is that these pacemakers allow organisms to anticipate environmental change. This is important because it allows organisms to schedule their behavior and physiology to peak and trough at times of day that maximize survival and fitness. For example, plants prepare to do photosynthesis in preparation of sunlight. Sea urchins forage at night and retreat to shelter prior to the onset of predator activity. The goal of this work is to determine how circadian rhythms (one of the most fundamental rules of life) affect the process of adaptation to environmental change.The fellow will investigate these questions using the acoustically advertising Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus), which is parasitised by a lethal, eavesdropping parasitoid fly (Ormia ochracea). Acoustic advertisement (in e.g., orthopterans and anurans) is a vital, often circadian-controlled, component of achieving fitness. Since advertisement also places the signaler at risk of parasitism and/or predation, individuals must simultaneously balance the fitness benefits and survival costs of signaling. Thus, while the timing of a rhythm may be advantageous in one environment, changes in environmental pressures may disrupt this evolutionary balance. The fellow will uncover how circadian rhythms shape some of the most common ecological interactions: those between males and females, competing males, and hosts and parasites. Specifically, the fellow will combine machine learning, behavioural assays, and genetic analysis to answer questions related to three topics: (1) how circadian rhythms in females promote or constrain the adaptive evolution of circadian rhythms in males. (2) how circadian rhythms affect male-male competition in the context of rapid evolution. (3) How host immune rhythms mediate infection risk and parasite offense. The fellow will receive training from world experts in their field of study and co-coordinate a free summer camp for minoritized and low-income female-identifying middle schoolers each year.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.