Evolution of sensory systems in the dark biosphere

该项目利用基于多种独立进化的地下水甲虫的独特澳大利亚模型系统来探索地表物种在地下栖息地定居时发生的基因组适应性和退化变化。我们的目标是描述和研究化学感觉和昼夜节律基因的进化，这些基因在动物的适应性中起着关键作用，包括在黑暗、热稳定的环境中寻找食物和配偶的能力。化学感觉和昼夜节律遗传系统以及它们如何动态进化的知识是各种领域的基础，包括物种形成过程和生物适应（例如，对永久黑暗，污染物和杀虫剂）。

This project utilises a unique Australian model system based on multiple, independently-evolved subterranean water beetles to explore the adaptive and regressive changes in the genome that occur when surface species colonise subterranean habitats. We aim to characterise and investigate the evolution of chemosensory and circadian rhythm genes, which play critical roles in the fitness of animals, including the ability to find food and mates in a dark, thermally stable environment. Knowledge of chemosensory and circadian genetic systems and how they dynamically evolve is fundamental to a variety of fields, including the process of speciation and biological adaptation (for example, to permanent darkness, pollutants and insecticides).