Workshop: From genes to behavior: Functional genetic tools in diverse organisms, Knoxville, Tennessee, July 30 to 3 August, 2020

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

How do the gigabases of DNA that make up an organism’s genome ultimately yield an animal capable of dynamic, species-appropriate behaviors? The investigation of how DNA differences shape behavior within and across species remains a question of central importance to neuroscience, evolution, behavioral ecology, and psychiatry. Yet, the experimental means to address the genetic basis of behavior have traditionally been limited to a handful of laboratory-amenable species, resulting in focus on a handful of behaviors exhibited by these animals while the behavioral richness exhibited by other species remained intractable. However, with the advent of novel functional genetic approaches, traditional technical barriers are dissolving. As this happens, a new challenge emerges: how to best bring these technologies to the researchers who focus their efforts on studying natural behavior. This workshop addresses the need to bring together functional geneticists developing novel methods to manipulate the genome with biologists interested in diverse behavioral questions. By enabling the widespread dissemination of newly developed, agile functional genetic tools to researchers with expertise in neuroethology and behavioral ecology, we will facilitate the next era of innovation in the study of the genetic basis of behavior. The organizing team will coordinate a workshop, hosted at the 2020 Animal Behavior Society Meeting. This annual meeting engages diverse researchers pursuing the study of behavior in the lab and the field, and employing methods ranging from molecular approaches to population observations. The organizers will highlight key advances in genetic technologies that enable genome to phenome mapping across the species spectrum. Our goal will be to make these emerging technologies accessible to biologists studying the genetic roots of behavior in diverse species. By incorporating researchers funded through the Enabling Discovery through GEnomic Tools (EDGE) program who work in mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, and fish, we will provide a broad overview of approaches for genetic manipulation with special emphasis on how these tools can be employed to investigate the genetic roots of behavior and the challenges of implementing them in diverse species. The goal of the talks and subsequent break-out groups will be to provide the knowledge and tools to envision new uses of functional genetic tools, either directly or through collaboration. While not every species or question will be amenable to functional genetic approaches, the workshop will serve a wide range of attendees interested in becoming familiar with these technologies, gaining the ability to critically evaluate the emerging literature, and potentially instituting novel experimental approaches as part of their research program. Further, the organizing team anticipates that the discussion generated among the attendees and presenters will help guide future technology innovations and spark novel experimental ideas. Finally, the broader impacts will focus on incorporating attendees from diverse background and discussing strategies for incorporating functional genetic technologies in a classroom setting. 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.