NSF PRFB FY 2023: Unlocking the genetic basis of structural coloration

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，综合研究调查了基因组，环境和表型之间的生命管理相互作用的规则。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。这项研究调查了动物颜色的遗传基础，这是研究进化的理想特征。动物着色分为色素和结构色。颜料，通常是红色和黄色，是直接吸收和反射不同颜色光的小颗粒。结构色，通常是蓝色，是由组织内不同细胞层反射的光的相互作用引起的。色素颜色通常具有简单的遗传控制机制，但结构色的遗传基础才刚刚开始被理解。这项研究将利用独特的蜥蜴和蛇物种，这些物种独立进化出蓝色结构与红色或黄色色素的变异，以解开它们的遗传基础。该研究员将积极招募，培训和指导来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的本科生，重点是遗传实验室技术和其他实用主题，如编码技能，阅读初级文献和职业发展。该研究员将在小学从事进化生物学教学工作，开发使用彩色蜥蜴模型的教学模块。本研究的主要目标是1）了解结构颜色的基因组基础以及相关的调控和细胞变化，2）测试跨系统发育尺度的保守变化。这项研究将首先集中在加州的Plestiodon gilberti蜥蜴，显示红色的猪鬃和蓝色的结构尾巴颜色的变化，最近有一个高质量的基因组测序。该研究员将比较100多个基因组，以确定结构颜色背后的基因组区域，然后研究相关的基因表达变化和产生颜色的细胞的相应细胞解剖结构。随着个体年龄的增长，他们失去了他们的颜色，并聚集在相同的成人表型，该研究员将利用它来评估个体发育的颜色变化是否受到与多态性相同的调节途径的控制。接下来，研究员将调查保守的基因组区域是否是结构颜色多态性的基础，使用全基因组测序在蜥蜴和蛇的系统发育尺度上对复制的颜色多态性系统进行测序。最后，研究员将比较公共数据库中的基因组，以测试基因组测序中的候选基因座是否预测明亮结构色的存在或不存在。该研究发展了对进化可重复性的理解，并提供了一个框架来预测复杂性状的遗传基础，这些性状可应用于人类医学和动物保护的重要问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

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. This research investigates the genetic basis of animal coloration, which is an ideal trait for studying evolution. Animal coloration is divided into pigments and structural colors. Pigments, often red and yellow, are small particles that directly absorb and reflect light of different colors. Structural colors, often blue, are caused by the interaction of light reflecting off different cellular layers inside the tissue. Pigment colors often have simple genetic control mechanisms, but the genetic basis of structural colors is only beginning to be understood. This research will leverage unique species of lizards and snakes that independently evolved variation in blue structural vs. red or yellow pigment color to unlock their genetic basis. The fellow will actively recruit, train, and mentor undergraduates from underrepresented groups in science, focusing on genetic lab techniques and other practical topics such as coding skills, reading primary literature, and career development. The fellow will work in elementary schools to teach evolutionary biology and develop a teaching module using colorful lizard models.The primary objectives of this research are to 1) understand the genomic basis of structural color and associated regulatory and cellular changes, and 2) test for conserved changes across increasing phylogenetic scales. This research will first focus on Plestiodon gilberti skink lizards in California which display red pigmentary and blue structural tail color variation and recently had a high-quality genome sequenced. The fellow will compare more than 100 genomes to pinpoint the genomic regions that underlie structural color, then investigate associated gene expression changes and corresponding cellular anatomy of color-producing cells. As individuals age they lose their color and converge on the same adult phenotype, which the fellow will leverage to assess if ontogenetic color change is controlled by the same regulatory pathways as polymorphism. Next, the fellow will investigate if conserved genomic regions underlie structural color polymorphism using whole genome sequencing on replicated color polymorphic systems at increasing phylogenetic scales across lizards and snakes. Finally, the fellow will compare genomes in public databases to test if candidate loci from genomic sequencing predict the presence or absence of bright structural colors. This research develops an understanding of the repeatability of evolution and provides a framework to predict the genetic basis of complex traits that can be applied to important problems in human medicine and animal conservation.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.