NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Molecular dynamics of assembly of the cnidarian stinging cell organelle

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2022财年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。细胞通常被描述为生物学的最小单位或“构建块”，但细胞通常具有复杂的内部结构，可以实现特定的功能。总的来说，这项研究旨在通过确定高度复杂特征的组装过程来解决细胞如何构建自身。具体来说，本研究将研究刺胞动物（水母、海葵、珊瑚）在捕获和防御猎物时使用的刺细胞和爆炸细胞的复杂内部结构。重点将是不同的刺细胞类型是如何组装在模型海葵线虫病。通过梳理形成刺细胞内部特征的精确机制，该项目将有助于更好地理解复杂性是如何在生命系统中产生和进化的。此外，该项目将在实验室指导本科生、在多个场所开展公众参与以及为早期职业研究人员举办科学传播讲习班等方面提供补充培训。导致复杂细胞结构的自组织过程包括自组装蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用和通过改变基因表达的基因组调节。为了建立这些分子相互作用如何形成复杂细胞特征的框架，本项目将使用刺丝囊的组装作为模型系统。刺丝囊是刺胞特有的投射细胞器，位于刺细胞中，具有不同的形态类型，但它们保留了一组保守的结构成分，形成了特定的亚细胞特征（如倒刺、刺、小管）。本研究的重点将是通过整合蛋白质组学和蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络分析、单细胞测序、高分辨率成像和功能基因组工具，解开不同类型刺丝囊中产生不同亚细胞特征的分子和调控动力学。虽然该项目主要利用海葵Nematostella，但也将研究Montipora珊瑚，以比较两个物种中类似线虫囊类型的自组织过程。该项目将包括指导本科生进行独立研究，以及通过教育社交媒体活动和面对面的社区活动与公众接触。科学传播讲习班将在主办机构设计和举办，培训职业生涯早期的科学家如何向K-12学生传播基础研究。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 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. Cells are typically described as the smallest unit or “building blocks” of biology, but cells often display sophisticated internal structures that enable specialized functions. Broadly, this research aims to address how cells build themselves by determining the processes involved in the assembly of highly complex features. Specifically, this study will investigate the elaborate internal structures of stinging cells, explosive cells used by cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones, corals) in prey-capture and defense. The focus will be how different stinging cell types are assembled in the model sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. By teasing apart the precise mechanisms that shape the internal features of stinging cells, this project will lend to a better understanding of how complexity can arise and evolve in living systems. Furthermore, the project will enable complementary training in mentorship of undergraduates in the laboratory, public engagement across multiple venues, and implementation of science communication workshops for early-career researchers.The self-organizational processes that result in complex cellular architecture includes both self-assembling protein-protein interactions and genomic regulation through altered gene expression. To establish a framework for how these molecular interactions shape intricate cellular features, this project will use the assembly of nematocysts as a model system. Nematocysts are cnidarian-specific projectile organelles housed in stinging cells that display diverse morphological types, yet they retain a conserved set of structural components that form specific subcellular features (e.g. barbs, spines, tubule). The focus of this research will be to disentangle the molecular and regulatory dynamics that contribute to the production of distinct subcellular features in different nematocyst types by integrating proteomics and protein-protein interaction network analyses, single-cell sequencing, high-resolution imaging, and functional genomic tools. While the project predominantly utilizes the sea anemone Nematostella, the coral Montipora will also be studied to compare the self-organizing processes of similar nematocyst types in two species. This project will include mentoring undergraduates in independent research as well as engaging with the public through an educational social media campaign and in-person community events. Science communication workshops will be designed and conducted at the host institution to train early-career researchers on how to communicate basic research to a K-12 audience.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.