Vitellogenin Genes in Hawaiian Drosophila: A Paradigm for Molecular Analyses of Evolution

夏威夷群岛及其流行的 果蝇物种提供了一个理想的天然实验室， 研究进化和生态适应。 卵黄原蛋白 或卵黄蛋白基因组成了 异常模型系统，用于分析 高等生物的基因进化 这个基因的成员 编码三种卵黄蛋白原蛋白的基因簇， 严格的发育调控，控制着时间，组织， 卵黄蛋白原合成对配合卵特异性和速率 每个物种的成熟与其特定的生态 栖息地 这项研究将使用最新开发的 加速DNA测定的分子生物学技术 这些基因的序列在9个物种和测定水平， 两个物种种群内和种群间的序列变异。 DNA序列比较将确定的分子基础， 卵黄蛋白原基因结构的种间差异， 功能 物种之间的基因变化将与 寄主植物和繁殖策略的适应性变化， 目标是区分各种类型的 物种进化中的DNA序列 两种基因的比较 使用编码序列与控制序列的差异构建 将检验基因组中的调节变化 与适应性和系统发育的变化更密切相关。

The Hawaiian Islands with their populations of endemic Drosophila species provide an ideal natural laboratory for studying evolution and ecological adaptations. The vitellogenin or yolk protein genes of these diverse Hawaiian flies comprise an exceptional model system for analyzing mechanisms and rates of gene evolution in higher organisms. The members of this gene cluster, encoding three vitellogenin proteins, are subject to strict developmental regulation, which controls timing, tissue- specificity and rates of vitellogenin synthesis to coordinate egg maturation of each species with its particular ecological habitat. The proposed research will use the most recently developed techniques of molecular biology to expedite determination of DNA sequences of these genes in nine species and assay levels of sequence variation within and between populations of two species. DNA sequence comparisons will identify the molecular basis of interspecific differences in vitellogenin gene structure and function. Gene changes between species will be related to adaptive shifts in host plants and reproductive strategies, the goal being to distinguish the roles played by various types of DNA sequences in species evolution. Comparisons of phylogenies constructed using divergence in coding versus control sequences will test the hypothesis that regulatory changes in the genome are more closely aligned with adaptive and phylogenetic change.