Selection and the Genetic Architecture of Fitness

分子工具的扩散开启了进化和生态学研究的新纪元。科学家们现在准备详细说明基因和环境之间复杂的相互作用，这些相互作用调节着个人对自然环境的适应。我的实验室正在引领下一代生态学，将尖端基因组工具与创新的野外和实验室实验相结合，以确定基因如何对自然栖息地的表型和适应性做出贡献。我们的目标是详细说明自然选择和性选择如何影响野生种群适应性的遗传结构，并最终发现适应的基因组基础。这些知识不仅对纯粹的发现很重要，而且对我们的自然资源的有效管理也很重要。这项拟议的研究将使用Chinook、Bluegill和孔雀交配系统中的平行实验来测试数量遗传学、性选择和进化生物学中的假说。我们将结合两种育种方法，一种基于数量遗传学，另一种基于性选择，以确定与健康相关的基因，并果断地详细说明配偶选择的适应意义和性冲突的健康后果。我们还将确定加性(可遗传)和非加性(显性、上位性)效应对自然环境中适合度的贡献。互补的微观世界和疾病挑战实验将检查选择的特定组成部分，以及与行为和免疫相关的候选基因的影响，以及基因表达对性能的影响。下一代测序将用于基因发现，并将表型的自然选择与DNA序列的变化联系起来，从而在达尔文的自然选择研究中提供关键的联系。拟议的工作将涉及4名博士生，4名硕士学生，8名本科生论文学生，1名研究技术员和多名本科生助理。这些学生将在进化和分子生态学的各个方面接受广泛的研究培训，这将使他们成为能够进入学术、政府和私营部门的高素质人才。

The proliferation of molecular tools has ushered in a new era in evolutionary and ecological research. Scientists are now poised to detail the complex interactions between genes and environment that mediate adaptation of individuals to their natural environment. My lab is leading the next generation of ecology by integrating cutting-edge genomic tools with innovative field and laboratory experiments to determine how genes contribute to phenotype and fitness in natural habitats. Our objective is to detail how natural and sexual selection affect the genetic architecture of fitness in wild populations and ultimately to discover the genomic basis of adaptation. Such knowledge is important not only for pure discovery, but also for the effective management of our natural resources. The proposed research will use parallel experiments in chinook, bluegill, and guppy mating systems to test hypotheses in quantitative genetics, sexual selection, and evolutionary biology. We will combine two breeding approaches, one based on quantitative genetics and the other on sexual selection, to indentify genes associated with fitness and decisively detail the adaptive significance of mate choice and the fitness consequences of sexual conflict. We will also determine the contributions of additive (heritable) versus non-additive (dominance, epistasis) effects on fitness in natural environments. Complementary microcosms and disease-challenge experiments will examine specific components of selection, as well as the effect of candidate genes involved in behaviour and immunity, and gene expression on performance. Next-generation sequencing will be used for gene discovery and to link natural selection on phenotype to changes in the DNA sequence, thereby providing the crucial link in studies of Darwinian natural selection. The proposed work will involve 4 PhD students, 4 MSc students, 8 undergraduate thesis students, 1 research technician, and multiple undergraduate assistants. These students will receive extensive training in all aspects of research within evolutionary and molecular ecology, which will make them highly qualified personnel capable of entering the academic, government and private sectors.