LTREB: Social, Environmental, and Evolutionary Dynamics of Replicated Hybrid Zones in Swordtails (Teleostei: Xiphophorus) of Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental

LTREB：墨西哥东马德雷山脉剑尾鱼（Teleostei：剑尾鱼）复制混合区的社会、环境和进化动态

• 批准号: 1354172
• 负责人: Gil Rosenthal
• 金额: $ 44.79万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-04-01 至 2020-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354172&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LTREB; Social; Environmental; Evolutionary; Dynamics

The study of natural hybridization - the exchange of genetic information between species - is fundamental to further understanding how genes function within organisms and within the environment. Hybrids - crosses between different species - can also be used to identify specific genes associated with traits of interest and how these genes interact with environmental variation, ultimately shedding light on the genetic basis of disease and adaptation to environmental change. This project studies changes in behavioral decisions, communication signals, heat and cold tolerance, and population structure over 10 years in natural and experimental populations of swordtail fish, a longstanding model in genetics, physiology, and behavior. The two parent species are found at high and low elevations, hybrids at intermediate elevations. Experimental populations will seed first-generation hybrids along an elevation gradient. The predicted response at the high elevation site is that genes associated with cold tolerance will spread along with the communication signals and behavioral biases of the high-elevation species, and vice-versa at the low elevation site. The study will identify novel genes involved with decision-making, communication, and temperature tolerance, which may lead to applications in medicine and agriculture. Further, the data will address the extent to which specific, identifiable parts of the genome are responsible for adaptation to various environments. Collection and analysis of data will be accomplished with a structured summer mentorship program between undergraduate students and local K-12 students. Because of the long-term nature of the study, K-12 trainees will have the opportunity to become mentors themselves later in the project.

自然杂交的研究 - 物种之间遗传信息的交换 - 是进一步了解基因在生物体内和环境中如何发挥作用的基础。杂种 - 不同物种之间的杂交 - 也可用于识别与感兴趣特征相关的特定基因以及这些基因如何与环境变异相互作用，最终阐明了疾病的遗传基础和适应环境变化的启示。 该项目研究了行为决策，交流信号，热量和冷容忍度以及剑尾鱼的自然和实验人群的变化，这是遗传学，生理和行为的长期模型。 在高海拔高度和低海拔地区发现了两个母体，在中间海拔。 实验人群将沿着海拔梯度播种第一代杂种。 高海拔位点的预测反应是，与冷耐受性相关的基因将与高海拔物种的通信信号和行为偏见一起传播，而在低海拔位置的副副称。该研究将确定与决策，交流和温度耐受性有关的新基因，这可能导致医学和农业中的应用。 此外，数据将解决基因组的特定，可识别的部分负责适应各种环境的程度。通过本科生和本地K-12学生之间的结构化夏季指导计划，将完成数据的收集和分析。由于该研究的长期性质，K-12学员将有机会在该项目中成为导师。