Molecular Genetic Studies of Bdelloid Rotifers

这个项目将研究蜈蚣总科轮虫的基因组结构及其进化，这是一种非同寻常的无脊椎动物群体，似乎已经进化了数千万年，没有有性繁殖。具体来说，该项目将：(1)启动对蛭形轮虫基因组的基本特征；(2)检查导致瓢虫基因组内发生遗传重组的特定基因；(3)确定长期的无融合生殖进化的基因组后果；(4)可能发现蜈蚣状基因组的新特征，这些特征可能提供洞察是什么使得蜈蚣类轮虫在没有遗传交换的情况下成功进化，以及相应地，是什么导致大多数其他变为无性的动植物种群过早灭绝--这是生物学中一个长期存在的基本问题。

This project will investigate genome structure and its evolution in rotifers of the Class Bdelloidea, an extraordinary group of invertebrate animals that appears to have evolved for tens of millions of years without sexual reproduction. In particular, the project will: (i) initiate the basic characterization of bdelloid genomes; (ii) examine specific genes for the occurrence of genetic recombination within a bdelloid genome; (iii) determine the genomic consequences of long-term ameiotic evolution; and (iv) possibly discover novel features of bdelloid genomes that might provide insight into what has allowed bdelloid rotifers to evolve successfully without genetic exchange, and, correspondingly, what causes most other populations of animals and plants that become asexual to suffer early extinction - a long-standing fundamental problem in biology.