Genetic control of developmental timing

项目总结/摘要 动物的发育涉及对细胞分裂、细胞静止、细胞命运的精确控制 特化、分化和形态发生。所有这些过程都是由细胞控制的 信号和遗传调节机制，其组成部分和相互作用已被 为了最大的适应性而进化。我们研究了C. elegans 负责协调幼虫时期发育事件的时间模式 发展，着眼于发现确保强有力的 协调整个动物的发育进程。我们将扩大我们的 以前的研究microRNA途径在发育稳健性中的作用， 在以下条件下，将microRNA生物发生与发育进程耦合的机制 应力我们将继续探索microRNA和其他因素在协调 转录和转录后调节机制，用于对 发展，特别是在高度保守的microRNA和microRNA靶点的背景下， 图案我们将研究蠕虫发育的周期性成分之间的关系， 特别是蜕皮和幼虫滞育-阶段识别和 细胞命运进程，目的是测试细胞分裂和细胞命运的假设 在生物体水平上协调过渡。

Project Summary/Abstract Animal development involves the precise control of cell division, cellular quiescence, cell fate specification, differentiation, and morphogenesis. All these processes are controlled by cell signaling and genetic regulatory mechanisms whose components and interactions have been shaped by evolution for maximum fitness. We study genetic regulatory networks in C. elegans that are responsible for orchestrating temporal patterns of developmental events during larval development, with an eye on uncovering principles and mechanisms that ensure robust coordination of developmental progression throughout the animal. We will expand on our previous studies of the roles of microRNA pathways in developmental robustness to investigate mechanisms coupling microRNA biogenesis to developmental progression under conditions of stress. We will continue to explore the roles of microRNAs and other factors in coordinating transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms for robust temporal control of development, particularly in the context of deeply conserved microRNAs and microRNA target motifs. We will investigate the relationship of the periodic components of worm development -- particularly molting and larval diapause – to the progressive advancement of stage identify and cell fate progression, with the aim of testing hypotheses for how cell divisions and cell fate transitions are coordinated on the organism level.