How Transposable Elements drive the Emergence of Phenotypic Innovations

Descripción del proyecto

El papel de los elementos transponibles en el proceso de radiación adaptativa

La radiación adaptativa es un proceso de diversificación rápida de un organismo a partir de una especie ancestral hacia múltiples formas nuevas. Los elementos transponibles (TE, por sus siglas en inglés) evolucionan conjuntamente con sus hospedadores y constituyen elementos importantes de la adaptación a nuevos entornos. El orden de insectos de los blatodeos (cucarachas) es diverso y estudios anteriores sugieren que los TE son la fuerza motriz de su diversificación. El proyecto TEEPI, financiado con fondos europeos, estudiará el papel de los TE en la adaptación de los organismos a entornos rápidamente cambiantes, a la vez que proporcionará una forma de prevenir la expansión de las cucarachas y las termitas como plagas. En la investigación, se empleará una nueva metodología de secuenciación, que permite mapear con precisión los distintos tipos de TE y detectar las familias de TE responsables de la adaptación de fenotipos específicos.

Objetivo

How genome give rise to novel phenotypes is a major question in Biosciences. Transposable Elements (TEs) have co-evolved with host and are a major process by which organisms adapt to novel environments. Despite the discovery of the role of TEs in phenotypic innovations, the mechanisms and categories of TEs favoring their role in adaptive radiation remains elusive due to their repetitive nature. To palliate such lack of knowledge, I will take advantage of the new sequencing methodology providing chromosome length contigs, allowing to map precisely the different type of TEs, to sequence several cockroach species. Blattodea insect order is incredibly diverse and previous studies suggest the determinant role of TEs during Blattodea diversification, making it a perfect model to understand how and which TEs favor phenotypic innovations. I am particularly interested to investigate the role of TEs in the adaptation to wood feeding and sociality which led to the adaptive radiation of Blattodea species. My expertise in social evolution, its molecular basis and next-generation sequencing techniques, along with the computational expertise of Prof. Bornberg-Bauer lab will allow to detect the TE families responsible for the adaptation of specific phenotypes and as well by which mechanisms such phenotypes arise (e.g. chromosome rearrangement, gene duplication, regulation of gene expression). TEEPI will advance knowledge on the incredible role of TEs in the organismal adaptation to rapidly changing environments and may also provide a way to tame the expansion of cockroaches and termites, common pests that are on a rise with global warming. During TEEPI, I will gain scientific knowledge and transferable skills in computational biology such as genome assembly, and also on project management and outreach. This new skills are key to reach my career goal, which is to create my own research group on Insect Genomics, and also broaden my career perspective towards positions in industry.