2014 — 2017 |
Bradley, Brenda |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: the Evolution of Hair and Fur: Proximate and Ultimate Factors Shaping Primate Pelage Variation
This project examines how core physiological and evolutionary processes shape biological diversity. Elucidating how genetic changes and selection pressures result in trait variation is a central goal of biology, and key to this is identifying the links between genes, form and function, and how these can alter the fitness of individuals and the evolutionary success of species. Moreover, understanding why and how many cellular and body structures have evolved independently in different species can explain how evolution takes multiple routes to 'solve' the same problem.
The biology of hair is an ideal system for studying these links between genetics, form and function. Hair is an anatomical trait that is shaped by both natural selection (e.g., providing camouflage against predators, protection from parasites, maintaining body temperature in cold environments) and sexual selection (e.g., signaling sex, age, status). It is a universal characteristic of mammals, yet across species there is striking variation in the color, pattern, growth, and texture of hair. Moreover, many hair traits, such as tail stripes or thick woolly coats, seem to have evolved repeatedly in different mammal lineages. Hair also is a trait for which small genetic differences can have major phenotypic effects; for example, red hair in humans is due to variation at a single gene.
This project applies cutting-edge genomic and comparative analyses to understand how genetic variation and selection have shaped this important anatomical feature (hair) in humans and other primates. In so doing, it also will provide a critical evolutionary context to understand one of the biological traits that make humans unique (relative hairlessness). Through conduct of the research, several undergraduate and graduate students, including individuals recruited from groups underrepresented in science, as well as a postdoctoral scholar, will receive extensive and broad scientific training. In addition, because many human and animal diseases are associated with hair changes and loss, this project is relevant for aspects of public health and dermatological and clinical research on hair/skin conditions. Animal hair also is an important commercial product; identifying the biological factors that shape hair characteristics in natural-living species could eventually improve the yield and quality of hair-based products. And finally, the project will generate a wealth of genetic and metric data on primate diversity that will contribute to research in conservation and evolutionary biology, as well as furthering research in biological anthropology.
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1 |
2015 — 2018 |
Bradley, Brenda |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: Population Genetics of Machu Picchu @ George Washington University
The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is an iconic landmark of human social history and technical endeavor. Built in the 15th century, Machu Picchu integrates refined architecture with dramatic landscape, and provides an archeological case study in understanding social centers of ceremony, politics, astronomy and agriculture. Although the site is among the most outstanding examples of human interaction with the natural environment, we know relatively little about the human component. This project uses genetic analyses to examine the biology and population dynamics of the people who lived and worked at Machu Picchu, and in doing so addresses questions in disciplines ranging from anthropology and history to evolutionary biology and environmental science. The project will also generate a wealth of genomic data for ancestral human populations, which will be a public resource for new avenues in genetic research and training. Moreover, given the status of Machu Picchu as an internationally recognized landmark and UNESCO World Heritage site, this project provides an ideal opportunity to engage wide audiences in human genetic history and archeological conservation. The project participants will conduct bilingual public seminars in the US and Peru to promote public understanding of human history and diversity. The project will also be integrated into parallel bilingual museum exhibits, further promoting longer-term international educational and research collaborations.
This project uses cutting-edge methods to sequence many types of ancient DNA (nuclear DNA, Y-chromosome, and mitochondrial DNA) to examine the genomes of people from throughout the Inca Empire. This includes the first comprehensive genetic analysis of the Machu Picchu skeletal remains from over 100 burials at the site. Genetic analyses of these individuals, and the biological relationships among them, will allow us to test many of the hypotheses surrounding this enigmatic site. These include questions regarding the functional role of Machu Picchu and its residents, and patterns of diversity, migration and labor diaspora in the Inca Empire. The investigators will compare the results of the genetic analysis with the previous archaeological, morphological and isotopic data from Machu Picchu, thus providing a more comprehensive understanding of the site and its socio-historical context. Understanding the population dynamics of the Inca Empire will in turn have broader impacts for understanding human genetic history and adaptation prior to European colonization.
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0.97 |
2016 — 2019 |
Sherwood, Chet [⬀] Bradley, Brenda Hopkins, William (co-PI) [⬀] Schapiro, Steven |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Inspire: Neural and Genetic Factors Underlying Individual and Phylogenetic Variation in Communication @ George Washington University
This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Perception, Action, and Cognition Program and the Biological Anthropology Program in the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and the Office of Integrative Activities.
Humans naturally learn to speak and use language. It is one of the defining features of our species. Understanding the biology of this extraordinary capacity is relevant to the fields of neuroscience, linguistics, genetics, psychology, and anthropology. Human speech and language involve intertwined processes, including the perception of signals (i.e., sounds, words, manual gestures, signs in sign language), the learning of phased movements of the mouth, tongue, and larynx to produce combinations of sound elements, as well as the higher-level cognitive aspects of word meaning, language structure, and the understanding of the discourse in which communication occurs. As each of these components may have separate neural and genetic bases, a focus on individual aspects of language helps dissect this complex socio-cognitive behavior. Studies of humans with speech and language disorders have provided insight into candidate genes (FOXP2 and KIAA0319) and brain structures implicated in different elements of language function. However, it is not yet understood the degree to which these genetic and neural building blocks of language are present and vary in nonhuman animals. This research project encompasses an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to investigate this question among humans' closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. A better understanding of these complex interactions will further our knowledge of the neurodevelopmental foundation of disorders affecting language in humans, such as autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and verbal dyspraxia.
The project includes a multifaceted examination of individual differences in vocal learning, motor control, and sound-symbol learning in relation to genetic variation, neuroanatomical structure, and molecular expression in the brain. Chimpanzees show marked variation in orofacial motor control that allows some individuals, but not others, to flexibly learn novel vocalizations. To understand the neurobiological differences among chimpanzees related to vocal learning ability, this project will use several cutting-edge analytic approaches, combining detailed MRI brain imagery, sophisticated measurements of microanatomical structure and cellular composition (from an existing histological collection), and innovative computer science-based methods. In addition, genomic analyses will include FOXP2, a gene that plays a critical role in establishing the brain circuitry required for the development of language in humans. However, the function of FOXP2 in communication and orofacial motor control is essentially unknown in primates: this project will be the first to characterize variation in FOXP2 across chimpanzees and examine associations with individual differences in brain structure, gene expression, and vocal learning (behavioral tests that involve minimal encouragement of the chimpanzees and reinforcement with food rewards, without involving any anesthesia, pain, or distress). Another important dimension of human language is the ability to understand words and their meaning, in both the auditory and visual domains. In humans, the gene KIAA0319, which is involved in brain development and dyslexia, is thought to play a key role in this sound-symbol learning. This project will examine how variation in KIAA0319 underlies differences in brain organization and sound-symbol learning in chimpanzees (housed at the Yerkes National Primate Center and the MD Anderson Cancer Center). All DNA samples, MRI scans, and brain tissue to be used in the study has previously been acquired. The combination of these multiple techniques will result in unique data sets that will transform our ability to compare brain structures and behavioral abilities relevant to language and brain function in chimpanzees and humans.
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0.97 |