NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Temperature, Metabolism, and Mitochondrial Evolution in a Diverse Collection of Budding Yeast

Wolters John F, Endicott NY

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. All complex life relies on the function of multiple distinct sets of DNA contained in each cell. Mitochondria, the compartment of the cell responsible for energy production and multiple other functions, contain a separate genome encoding critically important genes. Differences between individuals in their mitochondrial DNA have consequences on organismal function, but little is known about how these changes contribute to the evolution of new traits. The fellow will leverage the power of a collection of diverse yeast species to build the largest dataset of mitochondrial genomes available for any single group of species and determine how variation in mitochondrial DNA contributes to two key innovations that differ among yeasts: the ability to grow at different temperature extremes and the ability to ferment sugars even in the presence of oxygen. The project will significantly advance our understanding of how mitochondrial genomes adapt and change with their environment. The fellow will develop an evolution education outreach initiative to provide learning resources to homeschooling communities in Wisconsin. Mitochondrial DNA variation contributes to complex phenotypes in diverse organisms but mitochondrial evolution remains poorly understood. The fellow proposes to use genomic resources generated through the Y1000+ Project and the USDA strain collection to test hypotheses of mitochondrial genome evolution in over 1,000 diverse budding yeast species spanning 400 million years of evolution. The fellow will generate the largest collection of mitochondrial genomes currently available for any eukaryotic subphylum by creating and annotating de novo assemblies. Mitochondrial sequences will be used to test two hypotheses: 1) whether mitochondrial variation contributes to the expansion of yeast species into novel thermal environments, and 2) whether the evolution of aerobic fermentation has led to reduced purifying selection on mitochondrial genes. Mitochondrial genome variation will be associated with phenotypic data from laboratory testing of temperature preferences and metabolic traits for each species. The proposed research will provide significant training to the fellow through meetings with the Sponsor and Y1000+ Project collaborators, peer and near-peer mentoring activities with lab members, and writing funding applications with the Sponsor's guidance. The fellow will develop an outreach program to local homeschooling communities in Wisconsin that will serve as a framework for future outreach. The fellow will survey homeschooling communities, workshop best practices for outreach together with parents, and provide suggestions and lesson plans for incorporating evolution into the homeschooling curriculum. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.