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创造生物多样性的机制的洞察。龙曼元博士和詹姆斯·爱默生博士将利用微阵列技术来识别果蝇中的基因，这些基因起源于最近，尚未在整个种群中传播。随后使用比较基因组学进行的分析将使我们能够确定新基因是如何被保存的。他们将通过比较一个物种内的数据(黑腹果蝇)和不同物种之间的数据(黑腹果蝇和假黑腹果蝇)来估计这些新基因的适合度效应。他们将对迄今为止的基因复制率做出最准确的估计，这将是对任何生物体中新基因获得的第一次这样的研究。这些研究将影响人类福利：例如，抗药性基因的复制经常导致杀虫剂抗药性，而基因扩增经常导致肿瘤发生。对于这个项目，我们计划培训来自不能使用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.