NSF Award
2421716
This project is designed to broaden our understanding of myogenesis (muscle formation) in birds and mammals. Myogenic processes play fundamental roles in decoding genetic instructions in developing (embryonic) and adult muscles. This project will use a novel approach for analyzing gene expression pattern to advance our understanding of such developmental mechanisms. The primary focus of the project is on the chicken, a species of immense importance to U.S. and global food security. This project will support the advancement of genome science and muscle stem cell biology through graduate and undergraduate mentorship, K-12 educator training, and Extension and outreach. Curricula for high school biology classes and the 4-H Youth animal program will be created to convey applied concepts of how proper muscle stem cell function ensures muscle development. Teacher Training Workshops will be offered on genome sequencing and computational analysis of resulting data. Educators will be supported as they incorporate these concepts and methods into lesson plans for their students. These workshops will provide teachers with hands-on experiences in state-of-the-science laboratories to learn applicable skills and scalable genetics projects for use in high school settings, thus enhancing science education and fostering a deeper understanding of genetics and muscle biology among high school students.<br/><br/>Variation in gene regulation plays a fundamental role in shaping phenotypic diversity and is crucial for adaptation, ecosystem functioning, agriculture, and medicine. However, the mechanisms by which dynamic changes in gene regulation during development influence phenotypic variation remains poorly understood. This project will utilize recent progress in genomics, high-resolution tissue imaging, metabolomics and single-cell-resolution spatial transcriptomics to reveal genetic effects undergirding gene expression and phenotype, and guide future research into the genetic basis of phenotypic variation in plants and animals. Using chickens, an integrated analysis of gene and allelic expression, along with metabolite levels, will be conducted to identify gene and metabolic regulatory networks critical to fundamental cellular processes and regulation during myogenesis. Our research will identify alleles that play a key role in reprograming or acquiring specialized cellular metabolic state, or supporting anabolic growth. We will then examine the precise roles of a subset of these alleles using primary muscle cell cultures from multiple species and a muscle cell line to validate interspecies generalizability of results. The chicken (Gallus gallus) is an outstanding system for developmental biology and studying the genetic basis of complex traits due to in ovo (egg) embryonic development and extensive diversity among domestic chickens, as well as the availability of existing genetic and high-quality genomic resources. Moreover, our prior research found that genomic imprinting has not evolved in chickens as it has in non-oviparous (non-egg laying) animal species, making poultry an ideal system to reduce confounding factors for genetic analysis.<br/><br/>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.
