Nematode gonad development and the evolution of organs

描述(由申请人提供)： 这项研究的长期目标是了解生物是如何在分子水平上进化的。短期目标是了解太平洋线虫的性腺发育。线虫性腺由体细胞组织和生殖细胞组织组成。要形成一个功能器官，必须制造正确数量的细胞，指定正确的细胞类型，并且细胞必须重新排列，以便在正确的位置形成功能组织。太平洋隐杆线虫的性腺与线虫的性腺有许多形态上的差异。因此，对太平洋对虾性腺发育的研究为研究许多过程中的变化提供了机会。在接下来的三年里，将对太平洋对虾的性腺进行鉴定，并分离与性腺发育有关的基因。经典的谱系技术和激光消融被证明对命运映射性腺是有用的。细胞接触是用电子显微镜来描述的。与此同时，基因筛查正在揭示与性腺发育有关的基因座。对一类可能影响性腺发育程序的异时性基因的深入研究已经开始。与线虫同源基因的比较将开始剖析形成线虫性腺的过程是如何变化的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of this research is to understand how organisms evolve at a molecular level. The short-term goal is to understand gonad development in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. The nematode gonad is composed of somatic and germline tissues. To form a functional organ, the right number of cells must be made, the right cell types specified, and the cells must rearrange to form functional tissues in the correct location. The P. pacificus gonad has many morphological differences in comparison to the C. elegans gonad. Thus, investigation of P. pacificus gonad development offers the chance to study change in many processes. Over the next three years, the P. pacificus gonad will be characterized, and genes involved in gonad development will be isolated. Classical lineaging techniques and laser ablations are proving useful to fate map the gonad. Cell contacts are being described using electron micrographs. Concurrently, genetic screens are uncovering loci involved in gonad development. In depth study of a class of putative heterochronic genes that affect gonad developmental programs has begun. Comparisons with homologous C. elegans genes will begin to dissect how the processes that form the nematode gonad have changed.