NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Connecting comparative, genomic, and evolutionary ecology factors to extreme mammalian longevity

Lama, Tanya, Holyoke MA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. In mammals, maximum lifespan increases with body mass such that large species tend to live longer than smaller species. Bats are a unique exception to this Rule of Life and several species live much longer than expected given their body mass. Extreme longevity, as seen in several species of bats, is facilitated by mechanisms that repair cell and tissue damage, maintain immune system function, and prevent the emergence of mutations that cause aging-associated degenerative disease such as cancer. Evolutionary theory proposes that the evolution of flight, nocturnal behavior, and in some species, hibernation released bats from sources of mortality such as predation, reshaping life history to allow greater investment in mechanisms that allow bats to remain reproductive and healthy at older life stages. This project will test this theory using genomic analyses to explore the basis of unexpected longevity in pairs of closely related bat species with divergent lifespans and life history strategies. The fellow will also explore how mortality caused by white-nose syndrome, an emergent disease in North American bats, is reshaping life history and thus investment in the mechanisms that facilitate healthy aging among bat populations. This project will test longstanding theories of aging and evaluate the impact of disease mortality on aging in a natural population. To promote broader participation in biology, the fellow will highlight research by scientists from underrepresented groups in a seminar series, providing successful role models to inspire students to remain in science. Evolutionary Theory suggests that this Rule of Life reflects physiological tradeoffs between maintenance and reproduction, while Damage Theory proposes that aging results from an accumulation of wear and tear. This project will test competing theories of aging and elucidate genotype-to-phenotype connections and gene regulatory networks that underlie extreme longevity using 1) comparative phylogenetics to test whether extreme longevity evolved through an adaptive model of trait evolution corresponding to variation in extrinsic mortality (Evolutionary Theory) or to metabolic rate variation (Damage Theory) or following a random-walk model; 2) comparative genomics to explore the molecular correlates of extreme longevity in several bat lineages; and 3) a search for signatures of divergence between epigenetic age and chronological age among Myotis lucifugus populations impacted by high disease-mediated extrinsic mortality from white-nose syndrome. Further, the fellow will establish a seminar series at SUNY Stony Brook that highlights early-career researchers from underrepresented groups in biology. This effort will increase the visibility of underrepresented scientists, allow early-career researchers to establish collaborations at a leading research university, and combat the attrition of underrepresented graduate students. 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.