Collaborative Research: Functional Analysis of Proteins involved in the Dynamic Assembly of Chitin/Chitosan Laminae in the Insect Exoskeleton

角质层（相当于昆虫的皮肤）是昆虫在自然界中占据优势地位的结构创新之一。本研究项目采用分子遗传学和生物化学方法，旨在鉴定角质层中对其组装至关重要的特定成分。红粉甲虫成熟鞘翅中角质层的组织将作为节肢动物发育的关键步骤角质层形态发生的模型组织系统。这项研究将使我们更深入地了解各种蛋白质和几丁质如何相互作用以组装具有独特化学和机械特性的多层角质层的分子基础和动力学。此外，该项目还将培养三名研究生、几名本科生和一名博士后，并鼓励他们从事纯科学或应用科学方面的职业。由于该研究小组在培训和推广高中生物教师方面的努力，全国许多高中现在都在使用红粉甲虫进行遗传学实验，并将继续推广其在教育中的应用。从进行这项研究中获得的成果将以海报/口头介绍的形式和以主流期刊的审定出版物的形式在国家和国际会议上广泛传播。资源（突变体和基因工程甲虫）将在需要时提供给其他研究人员和高中教师。可用资源的详细信息也将上传到流行的Tribolium遗传学网站，该网站由该研究小组维护，以及Tribolium基因组数据库“Beetlebase”。

The cuticle (the insect equivalent of skin) is one of the structural innovations responsible for the ascendancy and predominance of insects in nature. This research project is a molecular genetic and biochemical approach designed to identify specific components of the cuticle that are critical for its assembly. The organization of the cuticle in the maturing elytron, a modified wing structure of the red flour beetle, will serve as a model tissue system for cuticle morphogenesis, a critical step in arthropod development. This research will lead to a greater understanding of the molecular basis and the dynamics of how various proteins and chitin interact to assemble the multi-layered cuticle with its distinctive chemical and mechanical properties. In addition, this project will allow training of three graduate students, several undergraduate students and a post-doctoral fellow, and also encourage them to pursue careers in pure or applied science. As a result of this research team's efforts in training and outreach to high school biology teachers, many high schools across the country now use the red flour beetle for genetics experiments and promotion of its use in education will continue. Results obtained from the pursuit of this research will be broadly disseminated in national and international meetings in the form of poster/oral presentations and in the form of refereed publications in mainstream journals. Resources (mutants and genetically engineered beetles) will be supplied to other researchers and high school teachers when requested. Details of available resources will also be uploaded in the popular Tribolium Genetics Website, which is maintained by this research group, and in the Tribolium genome database, "Beetlebase".