COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Evolutionary Dynamics and Molecular Analysis of Reproductive Diapause in Drosophila Melanogaster

合作研究：果蝇生殖滞育的进化动力学和分子分析

• 批准号: 0542859
• 负责人: Paul Schmidt
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-15 至 2010-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0542859&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Evolutionary; Dynamics; Molecular

The goal of this research is to understand, at both the molecular and whole-organism levels, the adaptive dynamics of diapause (reproductive quiescence) in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. This trait is central to fitness and population dynamics of insects in seasonal environments, and a candidate gene for diapause was recently identified in our previous work. The specific aims are to examine: 1) why the phenotype of diapause varies predictably with environment in wild populations; 2) the molecular basis of variation for the diapause phenotype; and 3) the historical and contemporaneous action of various evolutionary forces on the identified gene for diapause. This research would involve experimentation in the field and laboratory as well as detailed molecular and genetic analyses.Diapause in D. melanogaster is an excellent system for investigating how organisms adapt to climatic variation. Diapause has wide-ranging effects on other traits including lifespan and aging profiles, and this research would contribute to the understanding of the genetic control of lifespan and senescence. Many agricultural pest insects diapause, and information from this model organism could be directly applied and provide insights into means for population control of pest insects. In addition, these investigations have bearing on understanding evolution in novel environments, evolutionary response to climate change, and genetic tradeoffs in other organisms.

本研究的目的是了解，在分子和整个生物体水平，滞育（生殖静止）的模式生物果蝇的适应动力学。这一特性是中央的健身和季节性环境中的昆虫种群动态，和滞育的候选基因最近被确定在我们以前的工作。具体的目的是检查：1）为什么滞育表型的变化与环境中的野生种群可预测的; 2）滞育表型的变化的分子基础;和3）历史和当代的各种进化力量的行动上确定的基因滞育。这项研究将涉及田间和实验室实验以及详细的分子和遗传分析。melanogaster是研究生物如何适应气候变化的极好系统。滞育对包括寿命和衰老概况在内的其他性状具有广泛的影响，这项研究将有助于理解寿命和衰老的遗传控制。许多农业害虫滞育，从这个模式生物的信息可以直接应用，并提供见解的害虫种群控制的手段。此外，这些研究对理解新环境中的进化、对气候变化的进化反应以及其他生物的遗传权衡都有影响。