RUI: The evolutionary and developmental origins of imaginal cells in a basal holometabolous insect

许多生物体的幼体在成体特异性干细胞开始发育之前，都具有显著的身体部位再生能力。本研究的目的是研究昆虫腿再生的机制以及成体特异性干细胞是如何开始发育的。以面粉甲虫为模型系统，研究人员将利用一种称为RNA干扰的分子技术去除各种蛋白质的表达，从而研究这些成体特异性干细胞如何在幼体中发育。此外，在腿部再生过程中表达的基因将被检查和表征，以确定参与这一过程的因素。成体特异性干细胞的进化起源对理解昆虫变态起源这一重大争议问题具有重要意义。确定整个动物王国保守的再生机制将提供对肢体再生的基本和必要机制的见解。这项研究将在韦尔斯利学院（Wellesley College）进行，这是一所面向来自不同社会经济背景的女性的本科院校，将积极吸引来自不同背景的本科生，为她们提供跨学科的研究经验和现代分子技术方面的培训。对未来的科学家来说，多学科生物学方法的经验是至关重要的，而这项研究将为学生提供这样的机会。拟议的研究也将被带入课堂，让更多的学生接触到研究。学生们将被鼓励发表他们的发现，并在科学会议上展示他们的工作。

Juveniles of many organisms have a remarkable ability to regenerate their body parts until the adult-specific stem cells begin to develop. The goal of this research is to investigate the mechanism of leg regeneration in insects and how the adult-specific stem cells begin to develop. Using the flour beetle as a model system, how these adult-specific stem cells develop in juveniles will be investigated by removing the expression of various proteins using a molecular technique called RNA interference. Furthermore, genes expressed during leg regeneration will be examined and characterized to identify factors involved in this process. The evolutionary origin of adult-specific stem cells has important implications in understanding a major contentious issue, the origin of insect metamorphosis. Identification of regeneration mechanisms conserved across the animal kingdom will provide insights into the fundamental and essential mechanisms underlying limb regeneration. The study will be conducted at Wellesley College, an undergraduate institution for women from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, and will actively involve undergraduate students from various backgrounds to provide them with an interdisciplinary research experience and training in modern molecular technology. Experience in multidisciplinary approaches to biology is critical for future scientists, and this study will provide students with such an opportunity. The proposed research will also be brought into the classroom to expose more students to research. The students will be encouraged to both publish their findings and present their work at scientific meetings.