NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2016

Schweizer Rena M, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

Postdoctoral Fellow: Rena M. Schweizer Proposal Number: 1612859 This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2016, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology in partnership with the Tribal Colleges and Universities program in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Rena M. Schweizer is "Adaptation to High Altitude and Evolution of Metabolic Pathways in Deer Mice." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of Montana, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Zachary Cheviron. This research uses deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) as a model species to pursue questions about how animals adapt to high altitude, a question that has long been of interest to biologists. Insights from this work will serve as a basis for new theories of adaptive evolution, which can be tested with other animal species. The survival of mice depends on their performance at different altitudes, and genetic patterns indicate natural selection among populations living at different altitudes. Differentiation of the hemoglobin molecule (which animals use to absorb oxygen) in red blood cells between low- and high-altitude populations of deer mice is a well-studied case of genomic and physiological adaptation. The process of how oxygen is subsequently transported through the animal?s tissues is one example of a metabolic network. The Fellow?s research examines the metabolic networks that control multiple physical traits involved in how deer mice adapt to high altitude, in order to describe genetic patterns that are important to adaptation. Methods include sequencing to assess genetic variation of all genes within each of several candidate metabolic pathways, precise physiological measurements of multiple traits that affect aerobic performance in a lab colony of deer mice, and sampling wild deer mouse populations to assess whether the identified genes are under natural selection. The results will shed light on the genetic basis of physiological adaptations to high altitude and will help characterize how gene evolution is affected by metabolic pathway position. Training objectives include collecting and analyzing multiple high-throughput sequencing data types, learning protocols for handling small mammals, and measuring complex physiological processes. To increase the participation of students from underrepresented groups, the fellow is coordinating with the Indigenous Research & STEM Education at the University of Montana to bring in local learners - including grade school students as well as undergraduates - by communicating and teaching science. Additional activities include the initiation of a "Lunch with a Scientist" program, creating hands-on demonstrations in the field, writing non-technical articles, and creating an informative multimedia website on the project.