Dissertation Research:Identifying Genetic Mechanisms of Dental Variation in Anthropoid Primates

该项目利用古生物学和遗传学的新整合来研究灵长类动物牙齿的进化。在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的西南生物医学研究基金会，将对3000只狒狒中的300只动物的牙齿特征进行测量。我们将研究从狒狒化石记录中已知的牙齿特征，以及通过牙齿发育研究发现的新特征。西南基金会为狒狒保存了家谱，这样我们就知道每只狒狒的母亲、父亲、兄弟姐妹等。牙齿性状的遗传模式将使用系谱数据和概率测试来确定。这种分析将识别出与他人相关的特征和那些具有强烈遗传信号的特征。那些似乎遵循明确的遗传模式的性状，随后将再次使用概率论进行测试，以确定特定性状是否与基因组的特定区域相关。这是可能的，因为已经绘制了700只动物的基因组图谱。使用这种方法，我们可能能够精确定位基因组中包含与牙齿发育有关的基因的区域。这是第一个试图利用牙齿本身的信息来确定影响牙齿发育的基因的项目。这项研究的结果将使我们更好地了解化石记录中所见特征的遗传机制，并可能最终导致鉴定在人类和非人类灵长类动物牙齿发育中起重要作用的基因。

This project investigates the evolution of primate teeth using a novel integration of paleontology and genetics. Dental traits (characteristics) will be measured for 300 animals from a colony of 3,000 baboons housed at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas. We will investigate dental traits known from the fossil record of baboons as well as new ones identified through the study of tooth development. Family trees are kept for the Southwest Foundation baboons, so that we know each individual's mother, father, siblings, etc. Inheritance patterns of the dental traits will be determined using the pedigree data and probability tests. This analysis will identify traits that are linked to others and those that have a strong genetic signal. Traits that appear to follow a clear genetic inheritance pattern will then be tested, again using probability theory, to determine if particular ones correlate with particular regions of the genome. This is possible, since genome maps have been made for 700 of the animals. Using this method, we may be able to pinpoint regions of the genome that contain genes involved in tooth development. This is the first project to attempt to identify genes acting on tooth development using information from teeth themselves. Results from this study will give us a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying traits seen in the fossil record and may ultimately lead to the identification of genes that play a large role in tooth development in humans as well as non-human primates.