Evolutionary Process in Fungal Mating-Type Genes

真菌是地球上最多样化的生物群体之一，但人们对产生和维持这种多样性的过程知之甚少。此外，真菌的遗传多样性使它们能够迅速进化出新的致病类型，以应对作物育种和医疗实践的进步。在本项目中，研究了灰鸡的生殖生物学，以确定作用于一个控制交配相容性的重要基因的进化力。与只有两种相容类型的动物不同，C. cinereus有很多，任何两种类型都是相容的。交配型基因的多样性及其DNA序列的极端变异水平使它们成为理解作用于蛋白质编码基因的进化力量的绝佳系统。将观测到的序列多样性模式与理论模型预测的序列多样性模式进行比较。这一结果将对植物的交配相容性基因和动物的组织相容性基因等许多重要的高可变基因的遗传多样性的维持提供启示。

9514008 MAY Fungi are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on earth yet little is known about the processes that generate and maintain this diversity. Moreover, the genetic diversity of fungi allows them to evolve new pathogenic types quickly in response to advances in crop breeding and medical practices. In this project, the reproductive biology of Coprinus cinereus is studied to determine the evolutionary forces acting on one important gene, which controls mating compatibility. Unlike animals with just two compatible types, C. cinereus has many and any two types are compatible. The diversity of mating-type genes along with their extreme levels of DNA sequence variation make them an excellent system for understanding the evolutionary forces acting on protein-coding genes. The observed patterns of sequence diversity will be compared with those predicted by theoretical models. The results will shed light on the maintenance of genetic diversity in many important highly variable genes such as mating compatibility genes in plants and histocompatibility genes in animals.