Dissertation Research: Development and Evolutionary Consequences of Precocious Cranial Bone Development in a Direct-Developing Frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui

汉肯9801586这项研究将研究几种两栖动物(青蛙)的头骨发育。它的主要目标是更好地了解脊椎动物头部骨骼胚胎发育的分子和遗传过程，以及这些过程在进化过程中如何被修改，以实现不同物种之间头骨大小和形状的多样性。它还将提供对直接发展的发展基础的更多了解，直接发展是一种在许多现存两栖动物物种中发现的广泛但研究较少的生活史模式，以及直接发展是如何从祖先变质的生活史演变而来的。个别分析将采用几种不同的实验室程序。这些包括用活性染料和胚胎组织重组标记胚胎细胞(以确定哪些细胞对成人颅骨有贡献)；组织学和免疫细胞化学(以研究颅骨解剖的详细方面)；重组DNA技术、原位杂交和植入蛋白质浸泡的珠子(以确定参与骨形成的基因并确定每个基因的可能功能)。通过支持这项研究，该奖项还将加强对研究生的教育和培训，并为PI在高等教育和生物研究领域的职业生涯做好更好的准备。

Hanken 9801586 This study will examine the development of the skull in several species of amphibians (frogs). Its main goals are to better understand the molecular and genetic processes that underlie the embryonic development of bone in the heads of vertebrate animals, and how these processes are modified during evolution to achieve diversity of skull size and shape among species. It also will provide greater understanding of the developmental bases for direct development, a widespread but poorly studied life-history mode found in many species of living amphibians, and how direct development evolved from the ancestral, metamorphic life history. Individual analyses will employ several different laboratory procedures. These include labelling embryonic cells with vital dyes and embryonic tissue recombinations (to identify which cells contribute to the adult skull); histology and immunocytochemistry (to study detailed aspects of cranial anatomy); and recombinant DNA technologies, in situ hybridization, and implantation of protein-soaked beads (to identify genes that are involved in bone formation and determine the likely functions of each). By supporting this research, this award also will enhance the education and training of a postgraduate student and better prepare the PI for a career in higher education and biological research.