RUI: Ontogeny of circadian rhythm in organs and pleiotropic effects of circadian genes

该项目的长期目标是了解特定器官在胚胎发育过程中如何与大脑和外部环境同步。第一个目标是通过系统分析蝌蚪发育期间眼睛、耳朵、鼻子、心脏和肾脏何时表现出完全功能的昼夜节律来支持这一目标。分子方法将被用来阐明发育中器官中基因表达随时间的变化，以确定它们在发育过程中何时表现出成熟的昼夜节律。另一个长期目标是询问昼夜节律是否对器官的正常发育是必要的。体节是在脊椎动物发育过程中，在发育中的脊髓两侧以规则的间隔成对形成的组织块。它们构成成人背部和脊椎的肌肉和皮肤。第二个目的是通过使用分子遗传学方法来减少或增加早期胚胎细胞中可获得的xNOCTURNIN蛋白的数量，并分析对体节形成和分割的影响，以支持长期目标。这一结果将有助于揭示，像xNocturin这样的基因是否在早期发育过程中除了控制昼夜生理外，还可能具有其他功能。在三年内成功完成这些实验将为发育和分子生物学领域的8-12名本科生提供培训和暑期收入。

The long term objective of this project is to understand how specific organs synchronize with the brain and the external environment during embryonic development. The first aim supports this objective through a systematic analysis of when during tadpole development the eye, ear, nose, heart, and kidney display a fully functional circadian rhythm. Molecular approaches will be used to illustrate time of day-dependent changes in gene expression in developing organs to establish when during development they exhibit a mature circadian rhythm. Another long term objective is to ask whether circadian rhythm is necessary for proper organ development. Somites are blocks of tissue that are formed in pairs on each side of the developing spinal cord at regular intervals during vertebrate development. They form the muscle and skin of the back and vertebrae in the adult. The second aim supports the long term objectives by using a molecular genetic approach to decrease or increase the amount of xNOCTURNIN protein available in the cells of the early embryo and analyze for affects on somite formation and segmentation. The result will shed light on whether genes like xNocturnin may have other functions during early development apart from controlling circadian physiology. Successful completion of these experiments over three years will provide training and summer income for 8-12 undergraduates in the area of Developmental and Molecular Biology.