DISSERTATION RESEARCH: New Gene Formation: A Genome-Wide Investigation of the Fixation and Divergence of Duplicate Genes

对新基因起源的研究提供了对生物多样性产生机制的洞察。曼元·朗博士和詹姆斯·爱默生将使用微阵列技术来鉴定果蝇体内的基因，这些基因是最近才出现的，还没有在整个种群中传播。使用比较基因组学的后续分析将使我们能够确定新基因是如何保存下来的。他们将通过比较一个物种内（黑腹果蝇）和物种间（黑腹果蝇vs伪腹果蝇）的数据来估计这些新基因的适应度效应。他们将对基因复制率做出迄今为止最准确的估计，这将是对任何生物体中新基因获得的首次此类研究。这些研究将影响人类的福祉：例如，抗性基因的重复经常会产生农药抗性，基因扩增经常会导致肿瘤的发生。对于这个项目，我们计划培训来自那些无法获得允许进行此类研究的设施的机构的年轻科学家。

Studies of new gene origination provide insight into the mechanisms by which biological diversity is created. Dr. Manyuan Long and James Emerson will employ microarray technology to identify genes in the fruit fly that have originated so recently that they have yet to spread through the entire population. Subsequent analysis using comparative genomics will allow us to determine how new genes come to be preserved. They will estimate the fitness effects of these new genes by comparing data within one species (Drosophila melanogaster) to data between species (D. melanogaster vs D. pseudoobscura). They will make the most accurate estimate of the gene duplication rate to date, which will be the first such study of new gene acquisition in any organism. These studies will influence human welfare: for example, duplications of resistance genes frequently confer pesticide resistance, and gene amplifications frequently lead to tumorogenesis. For this project we plan to train young scientists from institutions that do not have access to facilities that allow such research to be conducted.