CAREER: The Evolution of Simple Versus Complex Biomechanical Systems

职业：简单与复杂生物力学系统的演变

• 批准号: 0546423
• 负责人: Jeffrey Streelman
• 金额: $ 87.87万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-02-01 至 2013-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0546423&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Evolution; Simple; Versus; Complex

CAREER: The Evolution of Simple Versus Complex Biomechanical SystemsJeffrey Todd StreelmanGeorgia Institute of TechnologyUnderstanding complexity is a central goal of science. Advances in computation, physics, biology and engineering have engendered a set of design principles that characterize complex systems. Theoretically, systems as varied as the Internet, tropical rainforests, and the proteins within a cell are similarly organized. It has been suggested that complexity is an emergent property of these design principles and that highly complex systems are qualitatively different from simple ones. The distinction between complex and simple systems has been illustrated using biomechanical models that predict force and motion (or kinematic transmission, KT) in the oral jaws of bony fishes. Simple lever models of the lower jaw exhibit a one-to-one relationship between form and function; proportional differences in the lengths of component bones produce proportional differences in KT. By contrast, more complex models of anterior jaw mechanics (called 4-bar linkage systems) show a nonlinear, many-to-one mapping of form to function; multiply shaped 4-bar configurations yield the same KT. Knowledge of how form maps to function is a first step to understand how simple and complex biomechanical systems evolve, yet we know almost nothing about the genetic basis of these systems. This research plan fuses biomechanics and evolutionary genomics in cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi, East Africa to ask how complexity is wired into genomes and whether complex systems have genetic architectures that differ from simpler systems. Research involves post-docs, graduate students, undergraduates (in Biology and Engineering) and high school fellows. The education plan integrates research and teaching around the mechanics of cichlid jaws to foster far-reaching impact outside of the principal investigator's lab. This project will facilitate hands-on learning in math and science among public high school students and teachers from the city of Atlanta, and the general public through interactive exhibits at the Georgia Aquarium.

职业：简单与复杂生物力学系统的演变杰弗里·托德·斯特里曼佐治亚理工学院理解复杂性是科学的核心目标。计算、物理学、生物学和工程学的进步产生了一套表征复杂系统的设计原则。理论上，像互联网、热带雨林和细胞内的蛋白质这样多种多样的系统都是相似的组织方式。有人认为，复杂性是这些设计原则的一个新兴属性，高度复杂的系统与简单的系统有本质上的不同。复杂系统和简单系统之间的区别已经通过生物力学模型来说明，该模型可以预测硬骨鱼口中的力和运动（或运动学传递，KT）。下颌的简单杠杆模型表现出形式和功能之间的一对一关系；组成骨骼长度的比例差异会产生 KT 的比例差异。相比之下，更复杂的前颌力学模型（称为四杆连杆系统）显示出形式到功能的非线性、多对一映射；多重形状的 4 杆配置产生相同的 KT。了解形式如何映射到功能是理解简单和复杂的生物力学系统如何进化的第一步，但我们对这些系统的遗传基础几乎一无所知。该研究计划将生物力学和进化基因组学融合到东非马拉维湖的慈鲷中，以探究基因组的复杂性如何以及复杂系统是否具有与简单系统不同的遗传结构。研究涉及博士后、研究生、本科生（生物和工程学）和高中生。该教育计划将围绕慈鲷下颌力学的研究和教学结合起来，以在首席研究员实验室之外产生深远的影响。该项目将通过佐治亚水族馆的互动展览，促进亚特兰大市公立高中学生和教师以及公众的数学和科学实践学习。