NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2013

2013 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1306538
• 负责人: Kevin Kocot
• 金额: $ 14万
• 依托单位: Kocot Kevin M
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1306538&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This Postdoctoral Research Fellowship award to Dr. Kevin M. Kocot is supported by both the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Office of International Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. During the 24-month fellowship, Dr. Kocot will work on a project titled, "Evolution of Biomineralization in Aculiferan Molluscs" under the sponsorship of Dr. Bernard Degnan at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.Biomineralization is the process by which organisms secrete mineralized structures such as skeletons or shells. The goal of this research is to study the process of biomineralization in a group of evolutionarily important molluscs using a genomic approach. High-throughput DNA sequencing will be employed to survey the genomes of aplacophorans (sclerite-covered, worm-shaped molluscs) and chitons (slug-like molluscs with 8 shell plates) and identify genes involved in biomineralization. Where and when these genes are 'turned on' (expressed) in the various types of cells involved in biomineralization will be investigated and visualized using in situ hybridization. Also, non-mineral compounds incorporated into mineralized structures will be identified using mass spectroscopy. Additionally, a secondary goal of this research is to contribute to the paucity of knowledge on the diversity of Australian aplacophoran molluscs including formal description of unnamed species.Mollusca is the second most species-rich group of animals and includes manyeconomically, ecologically, and biomedically important taxa. The great success of molluscs can be attributed, at least in part, to their ability to secrete calcified structures that provide them with physical support and defense. Because of their beauty, intrigue, and diversity, biomineralized structures (especially shells and pearls) produced by molluscs such as snails and bivalves have long been valued by humans. This work focuses on the less familiar aculiferans (aplacophorans and chitons) because recent genetic studies have shown that they comprise an evolutionary important group, distinct from all other molluscs. Additionally, recent paleontological studies indicate that aculiferans have retained ancestral characteristics that have been modified or lost in other molluscs. As molluscs are one of the first animal groups to appear in the fossil record, this work will have important implications for understanding of early animal evolution in general. In addition, this work will inform studies on economically important molluscs such as pearl oysters and abalone. Dr. Kocot will train undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds on this research. He will continue to be an active curator of invertebrates for The Encyclopedia of Life and an active contributor to Wikipedia articles in my field. In addition, he will continue to serve as a mentor to undergraduate and early-career graduate students through MentorNet.This award provides a unique opportunity for a US scientist to collaborate with foreign scientists, and utilize the unique facilities, expertise and experimental conditions available abroad.

这项授予Kevin M. Kocot博士的博士后研究奖学金均得到了国家科学基金会的生物科学局和国际科学与工程办公室的支持。在24个月的奖学金中，Kocot博士将在澳大利亚布里斯兰大学昆士兰州昆士兰州大学的伯纳德·德格兰（Bernard Degnan）博士的赞助下进行标题为“ Aculiferan Molluscs的生物矿化进化”的项目。BioMinerization.BioMineration.BioMineration.BioMinerization.BioMineration.BioMineration.BioMineration.BioMineration.BioMineration。 The goal of this research is to study the process of biomineralization in a group of evolutionarily important molluscs using a genomic approach.高通量DNA测序将用于调查plaCophorans（硬化岩覆盖的，蠕虫形的软体动物）和Chiton（带有8个壳板的Slug样软体动物）的基因组，并鉴定与生物矿化有关的基因。使用原位杂交将研究和观察到与生物矿化的各种细胞中“打开”（表达）的这些基因的何时和时间。同样，将使用质谱法鉴定出融合到矿化结构中的非矿物化合物。此外，这项研究的次要目标是为澳大利亚aplacophoran软体动物的多样性的知识匮乏做出贡献，包括对不愿透露姓名的物种的正式描述。Mollusca是第二大物种丰富的动物群，并且包括许多经济上，生态，生态和生物医学重要的群体。软体动物的巨大成功至少可以部分地归因于它们分泌钙化结构的能力，从而为他们提供身体支持和防御。由于它们的美丽，阴谋和多样性，长期以来，人类一直在人们重视蜗牛和双壳类等软体动物产生的生物矿物化结构（尤其是贝壳和珍珠）。这项工作的重点是较不熟悉的尖齿（肾上腺素和chit虫），因为最近的遗传研究表明它们构成了与所有其他软体动物不同的进化重要群体。此外，最近的古生物学研究表明，在其他软体动物中，囊肿保留了已修改或丢失的祖先特征。由于软体动物是最早出现在化石记录中的动物群体之一，因此这项工作将对理解一般的早期动物进化具有重要意义。此外，这项工作将为对经济上重要的软体动物（例如珍珠牡蛎和鲍鱼）提供信息。 Kocot博士将培训来自不同背景的本科生。他将继续成为生命百科全书的无脊椎动物的活跃策展人，并为我所在领域的Wikipedia文章提供了积极的贡献。此外，他将继续通过Mentornet担任本科和早期职业研究生的导师。该奖项为美国科学家与外国科学家合作提供了独特的机会，并利用了在国外提供的独特设施，专业知识和实验条件。