Collaborative Research: Evolutionary Origins of Chiton Shell-eyes: Integrating Structure, Function, and Gene Expression within a Phylogenetic Context

生物学中的基本问题包括：复杂的特征，如眼睛，是如何通过底层子组件的变化而进化的？连接简单的感光结构和复杂的成像眼睛的功能过渡步骤是什么？ 该奖项支持的研究使用石鳖（软体动物：多板纲）在一个综合的研究方法，以询问如何和为什么眼睛进化。具体而言，该提案涉及：1）与新的光相互作用结构的起源相关的基因型变化，以及2）新的光相互作用结构与新的光影响行为之间的关系。对甲壳素的综合研究将有助于推动生物材料领域的发展。研究石鳖的文石透镜将有助于研究人员了解动物如何通过生物矿化过程建立精确形状的结构。 研究石鳖眼睛的起源也将有助于通过展示复杂的特征是如何通过逐步过程进化的，来反驳流行的关于进化的误解。 本科生和研究生培训以及公共外联工作也纳入了这一项目。该奖项的研究目标遵循嵌入在石鳖壳板中的独特感觉器官（审美）：光感受器，眼斑和眼睛（带文石透镜）。具体而言，该奖项支持以下研究：（1）确定无眼石鳖中负责光检测的分子成分，并建立这些动物表现出的视觉影响行为;（2）描述与某些石鳖的眼点相关的色素和色素产生基因，并建立这些物种特有的光影响行为;（3）研究赋予有眼石鳖空间视觉的分子成分，并鉴定可能与文石晶状体发育相关的基因。 研究结果将发表在同行评审的期刊上，并在科学会议上传播。

Fundamental questions in biology include: How do complex traits, such as eyes, evolve through changes in underlying sub-components? What are the transitional steps in function that link simple light-sensitive structures and complex image-forming eyes? The studies supported by this award use chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) in an integrative research approach to ask how and why eyes evolve. Specifically, the proposal addresses: 1) changes in genotype associated with the origin of new light-interacting structures and 2) relationships between new light-interacting structures and new light-influenced behaviors. Integrative research on chitons will help advance the field of biomaterials. Studying the aragonite lenses of chitons will help researchers learn how animals build precisely shaped structures through the process of biomineralization. Studying the origin of eyes in chitons will also help counter popular misconceptions about evolution by demonstrating how complex traits evolve through stepwise processes. Undergraduate and graduate training, as well as public outreach efforts are also integrated into this project. The research objectives for this award follow the unique sensory organs (aesthetes) embedded in chiton shell plates: photoreceptors, eyespots, and eyes (with aragonite lenses). Specifically, the award supports studies to: (1) Identify the molecular components responsible for light-detection in eyeless chitons and establish the visually-influenced behaviors displayed by these animals; (2) Characterize the pigments and pigment-producing genes associated with the eyespots of certain chitons and establish the light-influenced behaviors unique to these species; and (3) Investigate the molecular components that confer spatial vision in chitons with eyes and identify genes that may be associated with the development of their aragonite lenses. Results from the studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at scientific meetings.