Evolutionary Process in Fungal Mating-Type Genes

9514008五月 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病原类型，以应对作物育种和医疗实践的进步。 在这个项目中，对灰盖鬼伞的生殖生物学进行了研究，以确定作用于控制交配相容性的一个重要基因的进化力量。 与只有两种兼容类型的动物不同，C。灰蝶有很多种，任何两种都是兼容的。 交配型基因的多样性沿着它们极端水平的DNA序列变异，使它们成为理解作用于蛋白质编码基因的进化力量的极好系统。 将观察到的序列多样性模式与理论模型预测的模式进行比较。 这一结果将为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度变异基因的遗传多样性的维持提供重要的线索。

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.