NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011

Konotchick Talina, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011, Intersections of Biology and Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow at the intersection of biology and mathematical science. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Talina Konotchick is "Comparative Metatranscriptomics of Marine Phytoplankton Communities." The host institution for this fellowship is the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) with sponsoring scientists Drs. Andrew Allen and Shibu Yooseph. Marine phytoplankton communities contribute a significant fraction of the primary productivity of the planet. Large-scale datasets of community-level gene expression, termed the metatranscriptome, have become available for these important organisms in the oceans. This research examines metatranscriptomes from several real-world eukaryotic marine phytoplankton communities to understand the collective physiological and biochemical processes and evolutionary relationships that define phytoplankton growing in a particular environment. The research advances our ability to predict phytoplankton response and resilience to increased ocean temperatures, shifts in pH, and changes in stratification due to changing climate. The rapidly growing field of environmental genomics and the recent availability of several eukaryotic phytoplankton genomes have increased capacity for comparative analyses and provide a unique opportunity to develop analytical and modeling tools that may extend beyond this group of organisms. Training objectives include establishing the mathematical and statistical background to translate biologically motivated questions into testable hypotheses. Mathematical modeling of physical data with the diversity, abundance, and expression level of genes involved in various aspects of metabolism plays a central role in characterizing the physical-biological aspects of marine phytoplankton distributions. Broader impacts include educational outreach to encourage the next generation of genomic researchers through the development of K-12 educational modules with the JCVI education department and through active mentoring and training of undergraduate interns.