Defining the Molecular Targets of Evolution

随着新一代测序技术的显著进步，我们现在拥有数百种脊椎动物的基因组，但了解这些基因组中的差异和相似性如何控制物种多样性在很大程度上是未知的。袋狼和狗的头骨形状相似，再加上它们的祖先很深，它们在1.6亿年前拥有共同的祖先，这为研究DNA水平上的进化是如何进行的提供了前所未有的机会。这一提议将确定头骨形状相同的动物是否也显示出相同的DNA变化。这些发现将定义新的发育基因，并解释选择、适应和进化如何在DNA水平上起作用。

With significant advances in next-generation sequencing technologies we now have the genomes of hundreds vertebrate species, but understanding how the differences and similarities within these genomes control species diversity is largely unknown. The similarity in skull shape between the thylacine and dogs coupled with their deep ancestry, having last shared a common ancestor over 160 million years ago, provides an unprecedented opportunity to examine how evolution works at the DNA level. This proposal will determine if animals that develop identical skull shapes, also show identical changes in their DNA. The findings will define new developmental genes and explain how selection, adaptation and evolution works at the DNA level.