QTL MAPPING IN THREESPINE STICKLEBACK

在过去的几年里，发育和进化生物学的综合已经成为一个主要的研究重点。然而，在短期进化过程中，调节基因座上的等位基因频率变化所起的作用还知之甚少。在这个项目中，我将利用一个特殊的机会来研究这些问题，这些问题是由三刺鱼种群之间快速而广泛的形态进化所提供的。当这种多骨的鱼入侵淡水栖息地时，它经常进化出不同的身体、头部和颌骨形状，以开发不同的资源，同时失去骨板和脊椎。我将构建一个遗传图谱或刺鱼，并利用原始海洋和衍生淡水形式之间的杂交来鉴定数量性状基因座(QTL)。与研究充分的斑马鱼进行比较基因组学研究，将使我能够定义导致不同形态的发育途径的分子基础。然后将进行原位表达分析，以将成体表型的变化与胚胎发生期间表达模式的变化联系起来。斑马鱼的合成和刺鱼的研究将大大增加我们对发育的微观进化的理解。更充分地了解发展的微观演变，有望为人类健康带来重大收益。使用发育进化模型可以更好地理解某些人类群体中更高比例的遗传疾病，并且可以利用从这些模型中获得的洞察力来设计针对人群的治疗方法。此外，对传染病发展演变的更具预测性的模型将允许进行有针对性的治疗，从而降低耐药病原体流行的可能性。

The synthesis of developmental and evolutionary biology has become a major focus of research over the pas several years. However, the role of allele frequency changes at regulatory loci during short-term evolution is poorly understood. In this project I will exploit a special opportunity to investigate these issues afforded by the rapid and extensive morphological evolution among populations of threespine stickleback. When this boney fish has invaded freshwater habitats it has often evolved divergent body, head and jaw shapes in order to exploit different resources, and concurrently lost boney plates and spines. I will construct a genetic map or stickleback and identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) by using a cross between ancestral marine and derived freshwater forms. Comparative genomics with the well studied zebrafish will allow me to define the molecular basis of the development-pathways leading to divergent morphologies. In situ expression analyses will then be performed to link changes in adult phenotype to changes in expression patterns during embryogenesis. The synthesis of zebrafish and stickleback research will greatly increase our understanding of the microevolution of development. A fuller understanding of the microevolution of development promises significant gains for human health. Higher rates of genetic disorders in some human populations can be better understood using models of the evolution of development, and population specific treatments can be devised using insight gained from these models. Additionally, more predictive models of the developmental evolution of infectious diseases will allow targeted treatments that will decrease the probability of epidemics of drug resistant pathogens.