CAREER: Genetic and Molecular Analysis of Spermatogenesis of Caenorhabditis Elegans

职业：秀丽隐杆线虫精子发生的遗传和分子分析

• 批准号: 9734584
• 负责人: Jacob Varkey
• 金额: $ 35.27万
• 依托单位: Humboldt State University Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-08-01 至 2002-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9734584&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Genetic; Molecular; Analysis; Spermatogenesis

Varky9734584The free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, is one of the best-characterized metazoans and it is amenable to many of the most powerful genetic technologies available. It is, therefore, an appropriate experimental organism for the study of many developmental processes, including meiosis. There are a number of cytological differences between male and female meiosis. In male meiosis, spermatocytes normally undergo two equal divisions leading to the formation of four spermatids. In females, on the other hand, the meiocytes undergo unequal cell division leading to the formation of an ovum and the polar bodies. The biochemical basis for these differences is not known. Several mutation screens have identified a large number of mutants defective in spermatogenesis. Morphological characterization of these mutants led to the identification of a group with defective primary spermatocytes that failed to complete meiotic division. The mutants fall into ten different complementation groups (early acting Spe genes). The specific aims for this proposal are to genetically, phenotypically and molecularly characterize the spe-25 gene, a gene which preliminary characterization suggests is one of the earliest acting Spe genes. It has been mapped to a well-characterized region of chromosome III that should optimize the molecular characterization.The analysis of these genes in a model organism will enhance our knowledge of the male specific meiotic event in a metazoan organism. Moreover, the proposed experiments are particularly suited for the involvement of undergraduate students in a "hands-on" laboratory environment.

自由生活的线虫，秀丽隐杆线虫，是最具特征的后生动物之一，它适用于许多最强大的遗传技术。因此，它是研究包括减数分裂在内的许多发育过程的合适实验生物。雄性和雌性减数分裂之间存在许多细胞学差异。在雄性减数分裂中，精母细胞通常经历两次相等的分裂，导致四个精子细胞的形成。另一方面，在雌性中，性母细胞经历不相等的细胞分裂，导致卵子和极体的形成。这些差异的生物化学基础尚不清楚。几个突变筛选已经确定了大量的精子发生缺陷的突变体。这些突变体的形态特征导致一组有缺陷的初级精母细胞，未能完成减数分裂的鉴定。突变体分为10个不同的互补组（早期作用Spe基因）。该提案的具体目标是从遗传学、表型和分子学上表征spe-25基因，初步表征表明该基因是最早起作用的Spe基因之一。它已被定位到染色体III的一个特征良好的区域，应该优化的分子特征。这些基因在模式生物中的分析将提高我们的知识，在后生动物的雄性特异性减数分裂事件。此外，拟议的实验是特别适合本科生在“动手”实验室环境的参与。