Evolutionary Genetics of Hydroid Allorecognition

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Biological systems are notable for the existence of several distinct systems of molecular recognition. A small subset of recognition systems is sufficiently precise and sufficiently variable as to permit recognition of variation between individuals of the same species. Examples include in the realm of agriculture, the pollen compatibility system of plants, and in the realm of medicine, the immune receptors that recognize disease and disease receptors that evade immune receptors. An additional prominent class of highly variable, yet precise determinants are those that control whether colonial animals fuse or reject on contact. The genes that control such phenomena have recently been identified. This project will determine the extent of variation in these genes in natural populations, whether this variation is primarily in the sequence of corresponding genes or whether that variation is structural, and determine whether the variation documented is or is not sufficient to explain fusion and rejection in the wild. The broader impacts of this work include the possibility, based on comparable studies of highly variable recognition systems, of identifying of novel mechanisms by which genetic variation is created and/or maintained. In addition, the project will provide a unique interdisciplinary training in molecular genetics and marine biology for jointly trained graduate students, as well as to continue to train underrepresented minorities and participate in local high school research curricula.