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When genomes collide: using hybrid zones to transform our understanding of behavioral and speciation genetics.

Award Number: R35GM151012
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

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When genomes collide: using hybrid zones to transform our understanding of behavioral and speciation genetics. - PROJECT SUMMARY The overall objective of research being pursued in the Delmore lab is to understand the genetics of behavior and speciation. Behavioral traits are tightly linked to fitness, human health, and disease but knowledge of their genetic basis is limited and has been hindered by several challenges, including their complexity (e.g., integration of many traits that are mediated by tissue-specific pathways) and limited expression in captive animal models. Similar gaps in our knowledge of speciation exist and relate to shortcomings in approaches used to identify reproductive isolation at the genomic level. Evolutionary processes involved in speciation (e.g., adaptation, admixture and genomic conflict) are important for understanding individual- and population-level patterns of human disease risk. The Delmore lab is using natural hybrid zones – areas where divergent populations interbreed – and recent advances in genomics to overcome challenges associated with studying the genetics of behavior and speciation. Recombination in hybrid zones isolates the effects of individual genetic loci, providing an entry point to identify genetic variants underlying behavioral variation exhibited by natural populations. Differences in behavior often help maintain species boundaries at hybrid zones, permitting simultaneous work on speciation genetics, including new approaches for estimating reproductive isolation. The Delmore lab has developed a migratory divide between songbirds as a model to understand the genetics of seasonal migratory behavior and speciation. Migratory divides are hybrid zones between populations that differ in several migratory traits (e.g., the timing and direction of migration). Migratory traits have a strong genetic basis and differences in these traits help maintain species boundaries. The Delmore lab recently established the infrastructure to quantify migratory traits reliably in both the field and lab. They can match these phenotypic data with information from multiple molecular levels and specific brain regions. This system will be leveraged to study the genetics of migration and speciation in the present proposal. An innovative multi-pronged approach will be used, integrating results from admixture mapping and population genomics in natural populations with laboratory examinations of gene regulation and functional analyses. By supplementing these results with comparative analyses, members of the Delmore lab will test the generality of their findings and continue identifying untapped avenues for future research. Together, these findings will provide unprecedented insight into genetic mechanisms that shape seasonal behavior and speciation and address several fundamental questions in evolutionary genetics, such as the role of pleiotropy in coordinating multiple traits, the sources and types of genetic variation underlying phenotypic traits, the contribution of multi-locus interactions to speciation, and whether molecular mechanisms of evolution are conserved across taxonomic scales.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $411,250 )
2026	2026	THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK	615 W 131ST ST	NEW YORK	NY	10027	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	5	8/21/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$411,250
														Subtotal = $411,250

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $440,314 )
2025	2025	THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK	615 W 131ST ST	NEW YORK	NY	10027	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	003	4	9/3/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$411,250
2025	2024	THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK	615 W 131ST ST	NEW YORK	NY	10027	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	002	3	8/21/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$398,406
2025	2024	TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY	400 HARVEY MITCHELL PKY S STE 300	COLLEGE STATION	TX	77845	BRAZOS	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	2	10/25/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2025	2024	TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY	400 HARVEY MITCHELL PKY S STE 300	COLLEGE STATION	TX	77845	BRAZOS	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	001	2	8/21/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$369,342
2025	2024	TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY	400 HARVEY MITCHELL PKY S STE 300	COLLEGE STATION	TX	77845	BRAZOS	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	004	2	9/9/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $440,314

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $381,250 )
2024	2024	TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY	400 HARVEY MITCHELL PKY S STE 300	COLLEGE STATION	TX	77845	BRAZOS	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	2	9/17/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$381,250
														Subtotal = $381,250

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $381,250 )
2023	2023	TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY	400 HARVEY MITCHELL PKY S STE 300	COLLEGE STATION	TX	77845	BRAZOS	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	1	7/28/2023	NEW	$381,250
														Subtotal = $381,250

Grand Total All Awards = $1,614,064

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When genomes collide: using hybrid zones to transform our understanding of behavioral and speciation genetics.

Award Number: R35GM151012

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

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