CAREER: The domesticated pigeon as a model for avian genetics and diversity

职业：家养鸽子作为鸟类遗传学和多样性的模型

• 批准号: 1149160
• 负责人: Michael Shapiro
• 金额: $ 92.4万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-01-15 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1149160&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; domesticated; pigeon; model; avian

Remarkably little is known about the number and types of genetic mutations that control differences within and among species. This project takes advantage of the diversity among the 350+ breeds of domestic pigeon - many of which show spectacular diversity in color, feather, and skeletal traits - to identify the genes that control variation in this species. Experimental crosses between dissimilar pigeon breeds will be used to determine the number and chromosome location of genes controlling interesting traits. Additionally, the genomes of many different breeds will be surveyed to find the specific mutations that control variation. Importantly, many of the traits that vary among pigeon breeds also vary among wild species of birds and other animals; thus, new insights gleaned from pigeons will yield a better general understanding of animal diversity.The pigeon is already an important model organism in biology and medicine, and this project will potentially expand other research programs by providing new tools for genetic analyses. The educational plan of this project will also have local, national, and global impacts. A centerpiece of this plan is a new computer-based virtual pigeon breeder game that will be installed on the Utah Genetic Science Learning Center's highly successful website. These and other new educational materials will be targeted at a diverse community and broad age range, promote critical thinking and self-directed learning, and key components of this plan will be accessible via the Internet to reach millions of people worldwide.

值得注意的是，人们对控制物种内部和物种间差异的基因突变的数量和类型知之甚少。该项目利用350多个家鸽品种的多样性--其中许多品种在颜色、羽毛和骨骼特征上表现出惊人的多样性--来识别控制该物种变异的基因。不同鸽子品种之间的实验杂交将被用来确定控制有趣特征的基因的数量和染色体位置。此外，还将调查许多不同品种的基因组，以找到控制变异的特定突变。重要的是，不同鸽子品种的许多特征也在野生鸟类和其他动物之间有所不同；因此，从鸽子中收集的新见解将更好地了解动物的多样性。鸽子已经是生物学和医学中的重要模式生物，该项目可能会通过提供新的遗传分析工具来扩大其他研究项目。该项目的教育计划也将对地方、国家和全球产生影响。该计划的核心是一款新的基于计算机的虚拟鸽子饲养员游戏，该游戏将安装在犹他州遗传科学学习中心非常成功的网站上。这些和其他新的教育材料将针对不同的社区和广泛的年龄范围，促进批判性思维和自我指导的学习，这项计划的关键组成部分将通过互联网提供给全世界数百万人。