Molecular Genetics of Morphological Convergence in the Drosophilidae

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Biologists categorize life on the basis of characters that organisms share. For most of the history of biology, morphology has been the prime source of characters for biologists to accomplish this important task. Often times, certain morphologies of organisms can look alike because of convergence, and this convergence can confuse and mislead classification systems if not properly treated. This proposal will attempt to examine the developmental basis of some of these confusing convergent characters in flies. In particular, this project will examine the molecular events involved in the development of the head of some very bizarre Drosophila species, in the hope that the basis of convergence can be discovered. The research planned for this project will also be directly applicable to our understanding of the developmental process in general.