Analysis of Wing Vein Specification in Drosophila

Ethan BierIOS 0744662：果蝇翅静脉特化分析Bier和他的同事们将分析果蝇翅膀发育过程中形成尖锐边界所需的遗传机制，在那里形成了携带液体的静脉。 他们将比较两种静脉定义这些边界的机制，目的是提取这种线性结构在发育过程中如何形成的一般原则。 他们还将询问类似的机制是否可能用于一种远亲昆虫蚊子。 这些进化研究应该阐明这种边界形成的过程在进化过程中是改变了还是保持不变。 由于边界的形成是发育的一般特征，包括中胚层的诱导（例如，肌肉）组织和脊椎动物胚胎中趾的形成，研究人员希望他们发现的许多原理将广泛相关。 在更广泛的影响方面，该项目包括一个教育部分，本科生将积极参与这项研究。 此外，Bier博士在他的教科书《卷曲的弹簧：生命如何开始》中以翅静脉发育为例说明了边界形成的原理，Bier博士在加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校的一门课程中使用了这本书。

Ethan BierIOS 0744662: Analysis of wing vein specification in DrosophilaDr. Bier and colleagues will analyze the genetic mechanisms required for forming sharp boundaries in developing wings of the fruit fly where fluid carrying veins form. They will compare the mechanisms for defining these borders for two veins with the goal of extracting general principles for how such linear structures form during development. They will also ask whether similar mechanisms are likely to be used in a distantly related insect, the mosquito. These evolutionary studies should shed light on whether this process of boundary formation has changed or remained fixed during evolution. Since formation of boundaries is a general feature of development and includes processes such as induction of mesodermal (e.g., muscle) tissue and the formation of digits in vertebrate embryos, the researchers expect that many of the principles they uncover will be broadly relevant. In terms of Broader Impacts, the project includes an educational component and undergraduate students will actively participate in this research. In addition, Dr. Bier has used wing vein development as an example illustrating the principles of boundary formation in his textbook, "The Coiled Spring: How Life Begins", which is used by Dr. Bier in a course taught at the University of California-San Diego.