The PI and collaborators will utilize high-throughput (next-generation) sequencing technologies to elucidate the genetic components of eyes and vision in multiple, diverse species of invertebrate animals. The animals to be studied were chosen because their vision and/or eyes are well-studied functionally, but lack extensive genetic data. Leveraging new sequencing technologies will enable the rapid collection of vast genetic data that will complement existing bodies of knowledge on visual function (especially physiology, development and evolution), and will facilitate an integrative understanding of animal vision from genotype to phenotype to evolution in multiple species. The new genetic data will be made available in public databases (e.g. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ). The project will also have multiple broader impacts, including the education and participation of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior and senior faculty, including individuals with a strong record of service in broadening participation of under-represented groups in science. The research will network vision research labs across the US together and with one international lab (Denmark). Eyes are a fascinating evolutionary innovation, and are, therefore, a persistent topic of debate between scientists and critics of Darwinian evolution. This project will provide additional, key data that will help to promote understanding, and educate the public about eye evolution.
Biologists seek an integrated understanding of biological systems that ranges from genotype to phenotype. However, species amenable to phenotypic study are not always the same species that are amenable to genotypic study. New technologies allow the development of genomic tools for most any organism, opening the door for genotypic studies in species and systems that are well-studied phenotypically. This project has capitalized on new technologies and developed general protocols for sequencing the suite of genes expressed in a tissue. We have developed bioinformatic tools and tutorials for transcriptome analyses, including assembly, annotation, and evolutionary analyses. To illustrate the utility of these tools, we have applied them to organisms that are well-studied and/or well-suited to vision research, but that are not traditional genomic model organisms. The sequences of genes expressed in eyes of multiple invertebrate organisms have been made available in public databases as well as the web site created for this research . These data can be used to test important hypotheses in vision research, integrating across levels of organization from genes to phenotype, and further elevating animal vision as a ‘model phenotype’ for integrative systems biology research. We used high-throughput (‘next-generation’) sequencing technologies to elucidate the genetic components of eyes and vision in multiple, diverse species of invertebrate animals (over 20 species in total). The animals studied were chosen because their vision and/or eyes are well-studied functionally, but lack extensive genetic data. Leveraging new sequencing technologies enabled the rapid collection of vast genetic data that complement existing bodies of knowledge on visual function (especially physiology, development and evolution), and facilitate an integrative understanding of animal vision from genotype to phenotype to evolution in multiple species. The new genetic data are made available in public databases (e.g. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ). The project also had multiple broader impacts, including the education and participation of undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior and senior faculty, including individuals with a strong record of service in broadening participation of under-represented groups in science. The project networked vision research labs across the US together and provided data for understanding and educating the public about eye evolution, a persistent target of anti-scientific/anti-evolution arguments.
