NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2017: Morphological Variation and Molecular Origination of Chiropteran Wing Membranes

Urban Daniel J, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Research Using Biological Collections. The fellow, Daniel Urban, is conducting research and receiving training that utilizes biological collections in innovative ways, and is being mentored by two sponsoring scientists at two host institutions: Nancy Simmons (American Museum of Natural History) and Karen Sears (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). The project aims to understand the origination and diversification of novel traits, specifically bat wings. The wing membranes of bats are novel structures with no known associations to features in any other mammals. Additionally, the importance of the wing membranes cannot be overstated as they have allowed bats to diversify in an extraordinary manner - bats account for over 20% of all mammalian species. While conducting this research, the fellow is training and mentoring several undergraduates from groups traditionally underrepresented in science, while utilizing the wealth of knowledge in museum collections in innovative ways. Furthermore, the fellow is broadening public engagement by generating hands-on learning activities at the American Museum of Natural History, which have the potential to reach over 5 million children and adults annually. The fellow's research consists of three primary aims. Aim 1 characterizes varying wing forms among diverse bat species. This aim is being achieved by conducting wing shape analysis on adult specimens housed at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), which contains over 60,000 bats in its collection. In Aim 2 the fellow is identifying when during development the wing membranes begin to form, and from what tissue sources they originate. The fellow is also determining at what point differences in the wing forms begin to emerge among species. Aim 2 specimens are being acquired from a combination of AMNH fluid collections and newly captured bats (which will then be added to the AMNH collections). Finally, Aim 3 seeks to establish the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of the wing membranes, and how these mechanisms diverge among various species. This aim uses developing embryos to visualize cellular processes, gene expression, and protein localization. Identifying the mechanisms driving the origination and diversification of bat wing membranes will advance our understanding of bat development and evolution and, more generally, the developmental drivers of evolutionary innovations and adaptive radiations. In the process, the fellow is also generating outreach activities to assist in educating the public about the importance of bats and their amazing novel wing structures.