NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2016

Rubi Tricia L, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Postdoctoral Fellow: Tricia L. Rubi Proposal Number: 1612143 This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2016, Interdisciplinary Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow to take transformative approaches to grand challenges in biology that employ biological collections in highly innovative ways. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Tricia L. Rubi is, "Do epigenetic mechanisms facilitate colonization? Characterizing methylation profiles in historic colonist populations using museum specimens." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of Michigan, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Ben Dantzer. The major aim of the Fellow's research is to conduct novel methylation analyses using museum specimens to investigate the role of epigenetic effects in adaptive processes. The role of epigenetic mechanisms (processes that modulate gene expression) in adaptation is unresolved and contentious. Museum collections are a remarkable tool for investigating questions related to adaptation because they allow us to examine change over time. Recently, it was discovered that ancient and historic specimens retain patterns of in vivo DNA methylation, one of the best-explored epigenetic mechanisms. Specifically, the Fellow's research tests the hypothesis that epigenetic diversity acts as an adaptive buffer in populations colonizing novel environments. Colonist populations must rapidly adapt to novel conditions, often while faced with relatively low genetic diversity. In such populations, epigenetic mechanisms such as methylation may facilitate rapid adaptation by generating phenotypic variation, including environmentally-induced phenotypes. Focusing on the well-documented northward expansion of the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), this research characterizes spatial and temporal patterns in genetic and epigenetic diversity over the course of a range expansion in order to test the hypothesis that epigenetic effects facilitate colonization by acting as an adaptive buffer at the expansion front. The Fellow is building skills in molecular genetic and epigenetic lab techniques and data analysis, and applying these skills to the emerging field of museum epigenomics. This work helps to build and modernize existing museum resources, and all genetic and epigenetic data are being made publicly available. In addition, the Fellow is conducting outreach activities aimed at educating the public about museum collections and how they contribute to research. As part of these activities, the fellow is partnering with Detroit-area groups that promote STEM field participation by underrepresented groups such as low income and minority youth (MYELIN) and young women (FEMMES).