SGER: Evolutionary Relationship of Gene Structure and Function.

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The goal of this Small Grant for Exploratory research is to use genealogical approaches to identify critical amino acid substitutions during the evolution of new mating type gene function in the basidiomycete fungus Coprinus cinereus. Previously, DNA sequence and genealogical analyses were used to describe the evolutionary history of alleles at a single mating type gene, bl. The bl gene lies within the complex A mating type locus. An examination of the genes in related species and additional analyses were used to identify amino acid substitutions that may have been important for the evolution of new mating type function. Those inferences are being tested by making site-directed mutations in alleles of bl and testing for changes in mating type. If successful, thias approach will provide a new method of analyzing and obtaining functional information from sequence data sets as well as providing a greater understanding of the evolution of mating type genes.