NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Linking Genotype-Phenotype and Environment of Human Head Lice to Understand the Drivers of Population Level Variation

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。这项研究旨在量化环境对一种全球分布的人类寄生虫--人类头虱--的基因和形态的影响。这种寄生虫现在学龄儿童中很常见，但在整个现代人类历史上都对人类健康产生了影响。这项研究利用全球人类头虱种群来探索基因组、物候组和环境水平上的多个生物系统之间的联系，以了解这些层是如何在塑造种群水平变异的过程中相互联系的。了解这些寄生虫是如何通过经历遗传和形态变化来适应环境的，这将有助于阐明适应进化的机制。接触到不同的公众受众将有助于实现这项研究的主要目标之一，即揭穿与头虱有关的社会耻辱。来自代表世界各地虱子种群的虱子样本全基因组测序的初步数据显示，有强有力的证据表明存在大陆结构的核基因簇。这增加了区域差异适应轨迹的可能性。然而，人们对不同环境刺激的形态和遗传适应性知之甚少。这项研究的目的是收集和整合来自基因、表型和环境的数据，以量化变异并识别全球人类头虱种群潜在的适应反应。更具体地说，该项目将(1)确定处于正选择并影响形态变异的基因，(2)量化人类虱子的遗传和表型特征的空间多样性，(3)评估头虱种群的地理范围及其共生概率，(4)量化环境变量(例如，景观和气候)对头虱基因型和表型的空间差异的影响。该研究员将在使用基因组扫描、高分辨率计算机断层扫描(CT)和环境变量方面获得经验，以实现上述目标。此外，该项目的研究机构提供了一个独特的机会，以许多不同的方式参与公众；高分辨率CT扫描、虱子样本的3D打印和幻灯片安装将通过纳入K-12课程计划的公共平台提供。该奖项反映了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 aims to quantify the impact of environment on the genotype and morphology of a globally distributed human parasite: the human head louse. This parasite is now commonly found among school-aged children but has had an impact on human health for all of modern human history. This research utilizes a global human head louse population to explore the connections between multiple biological systems at the genome, phenome, and environmental levels to understand how each of these layers are interconnected in shaping population level variation. Understanding how these parasites have adapted to their environments by undergoing both genetic and morphological changes will help in elucidating the mechanisms underlying adaptive evolution. Outreach to a diverse, public audience will assist in meeting one of the main goals of the study which is debunking the social stigma associated with head lice.Preliminary data from whole genome sequencing of louse specimens representing the worldwide louse population show strong evidence of continentally structured nuclear genetic clusters. This raises the possibility of regionally divergent adaptive trajectories. However, little is known about morphological and genetic adaptations in response to different environmental stimuli. This research aims to collect and integrate data from the genotype, phenotype, and environment in order to quantify variation and to identify potential adaptive responses of human head louse populations globally. More specifically, this project will (1) identify genes that are under positive selection and influence morphological variation, (2) quantify the spatial diversity of genotypic and phenotypic traits of the human louse, (3) evaluate the geographic extent of head louse populations and their co-occurrence probabilities, and (4) quantify the impact of environmental variables (e.g., landscape and climate) on the spatial differences in head louse genotypes and phenotypes. The Fellow will gain experience in the use of genome scans, high-resolution Computed Tomography (CT) scans, and environmental variables to achieve the above-mentioned objectives. In addition, the research organism of this project presents a unique opportunity to engage the public in many different ways; high-resolution CT scans, 3D prints of louse specimens, and slide mounts will be made available through public platforms incorporated into K-12 lesson plans.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.