NSF PRFB FY23: Polyploidy as a driver of developmental and morphological evolution

这一行动为NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、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。生物体的发育是由表达的基因和细胞过程的作用造成的。这些特征的变化可以改变发育，从而改变有机体的大小和形状。正因为如此，多倍化可能是发展演变的一个关键因素。一个有机体通过拥有两组以上的染色体而成为多倍体。这些额外的染色体对细胞生物学有直接影响。首先，多倍体可以通过增加基因拷贝数来改变基因表达。此外，由于额外的DNA含量，细胞变得更大。然而，这些与多倍体相关的变化如何影响发育在很大程度上仍然是个谜。然而，这些效应似乎确实是多倍体动物稀有的原因。大多数动物在早期都不能以多倍体的形式发育，这表明发育对这种情况很敏感。通过对多倍体动物的研究，这位研究员的目标是揭示在某些动物谱系中可能发生多倍体的情况，但在其他动物谱系中却不可能。为了实现这一点，这位研究员将描述多倍体火蜥蜴的发育。这项奖学金还将支持本科生的研究和教育外展。研究的目的是调查多倍体对多倍体火蜥蜴(Ambystoma)杂交谱系的发育和形态进化的影响。这位研究员将利用CT扫描数据和组织学来评估多倍体导致的细胞大小如何作为器官系统形态的决定因素。其次，该研究员将利用免疫组织化学和原位杂交技术，研究与倍性相关的细胞大小和基因表达的变化如何改变形态发生，以表征发育中的组织形态、图案形成和发育细胞过程。最后，这位研究员将利用ATAC-Seq和RNA-Seq来测试发育基因在整个发育过程中的差异调控和表达，从而表征通过多倍化获得的基因组的额外拷贝如何影响发育基因的表达。通过研究这些独特的多倍体火蜥蜴，这位研究员的目标是了解多倍体如何塑造发育和形态。解决这些知识差距将扩大该领域对多倍化在整个生命树的表型特征进化中所起作用的理解。此外，该研究员将促进和指导研究机会，并为研究机会有限的本科生开设研讨会。该研究员还将接受与发展和基因组研究相关的技能培训。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 2023, 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. Organismal development results from the actions of expressed genes and cellular processes. Changes in these traits can alter development, and therefore, the size and shape of an organism. Because of this, polyploidization can be a key factor in the evolution of development. An organism becomes a polyploid by having more than two sets of chromosomes. These additional chromosomes have direct effects on cell biology. First, polyploidy can alter gene expression by increasing the number of gene copies. Additionally, cells become larger as a result of the extra DNA content. Yet, how these polyploidy-related changes affect development remains largely mysterious. However, these effects do appear to be responsible for the rarity of polyploid animals. Most animals fail to develop early on as polyploids, suggesting development is sensitive to this condition. By studying polyploid animals, the Fellow aims to uncover the circumstances that make polyploidy possible in some lineages of animals but not others. To achieve this, the Fellow will characterize development in polyploid salamanders. This fellowship will also support undergraduate research and educational outreach.The research aims to investigate the consequences of polyploidy on the evolution of development and morphology in a hybrid lineage of polyploid salamanders (genus Ambystoma). The Fellow will assess how increased cell size due to polyploidy acts as a determinant of morphology across organ systems using CT scan data and histology. Second, the Fellow will investigate how ploidy-related changes in cell size and gene expression alter morphogenesis to characterize developing tissue morphology, pattern formation, and developmental cellular processes using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Finally, the Fellow will characterize how the additional copies of a genome gained through polyploidization affect developmental gene expression using ATAC-Seq and RNA-Seq to test for differential regulation and expression of developmental genes throughout development. By studying these unique polyploid salamanders, the Fellow aims to understand how polyploidy shapes development and morphology. Addressing these knowledge gaps will broaden the fields’ understanding of the role polyploidization has had in the evolution of phenotypic traits across the tree of life. In addition, the Fellow will facilitate and mentor research opportunities and develop workshops for undergraduates with limited research opportunities. The Fellow will also receive training in skills related to developmental and genomic research.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.