CAREER: Evolution of the Endomesoderm Gene Regulatory Network in Nematodes

线虫内胚层基因调控网络的进化生物学的一个核心问题是——不同的胚层（内胚层、中胚层和外胚层）是如何从少数看起来相似的胚胎细胞产生的？在过去的几年里，决定内胚层和中胚层前体形成的遗传途径已经在简单线虫，秀丽隐杆线虫中被揭示。马杜罗博士建议进行实验，以确定决定秀丽隐杆线虫其他组织功能的因素，并研究这些途径在数百万年里是如何变化的。他将采用分子和遗传学相结合的方法来鉴定和评估在秀丽隐杆线虫早期发育中以前未被描述的重要基因的功能。他还将在相关的线虫C. briggsae上进行类似的实验，以研究指定内胚层和中胚层的遗传途径的进化。这些研究将区分这些途径的哪些方面在早期发育中受到限制，哪些方面在进化过程中是灵活的。由于许多在内胚层发育中起作用的调节因子在其他动物中也有对应的调节因子，因此该结果将具有广泛的意义。马杜罗博士是一名西班牙裔的初级研究员，他将鼓励来自加州大学河滨分校种族多元化的研究生和本科生参与这项工作。他是美国国家科学院生命科学研究员（2006-2007），将教授和发展发展生物学本科和研究生课程的新教学法。

Morris Ford Maduro, IOB #0643325 (CAREER)Evolution of the endomesoderm gene regulatory network in nematodesA central question in biology is - how do the different germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm) arise from a small number of embryonic cells that appear similar? In the last few years, the genetic pathways that determine the formation of precursors for endoderm and mesoderm have been revealed in the simple nematode, C. elegans. Dr. Maduro proposes experiments to identify factors that function to determine other tissues in C. elegans, and to examine how these pathways have changed over millions of years. He will employ a combination of molecular and genetic approaches to identify, and evaluate the function of, previously uncharacterized genes important in the early development of C. elegans. He will also perform similar experiments in the related nematode C. briggsae to investigate the evolution of the genetic pathway that specifies endoderm and mesoderm. These studies will differentiate between aspects of these pathways that are constrained in early development, and which are flexible, during evolution. As many of the regulators that function in endomesoderm development have counterparts in other animals, the results will be of broad significance. Dr. Maduro is a junior investigator of Hispanic descent and he will encourage Graduate and Undergraduate students from the ethnically diverse UC Riverside campus to participate in the work. He is a National Academies Fellow in the Life Sciences (2006-2007), and will teach and develop new pedagogy for undergraduate and graduate courses in developmental biology.