Pattern formation and regeneration in a single cell

 描述(申请人提供)：形态形成和图案形成是任何生物体的重要过程，无论是单细胞的还是多细胞的。但与植物和动物的发育生物学相比，单细胞的形态发生和模式形成的原理在很大程度上仍然未知。尽管所有的细胞都会形成图案，但巨大的纤毛蓝斑提供了巨大的、高度可重复性的图案和细胞地标的独特特征，以及非凡的愈合伤口的能力，这使得胚胎学中常见的一种类型的显微外科手术成为可能。Stentor是研究细胞形态发生和再生机制的常用模式生物，但从未作为分子模型系统被开发出来。我们现在已经对Stentor基因组进行了测序，并开发了一种通过RNAi测试基因功能的方法。我们建议使用这些基因组工具来测试一组假设，即细胞皮质和核如何共同工作，在细胞发育过程中指导模式形成，并允许手术切除后细胞结构的再生。我们希望我们的研究为细胞形成模式和发展复杂结构的机制打开一扇新的窗口，这是整个生物学中的一个普遍问题。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Morphogenesis and pattern formation are vital processes in any organism, whether unicellular or multicellular. But in contrast to the developmental biology of plants and animals, the principles of morphogenesis and pattern formation in single cells remain largely unknown. Although all cells develop patterns, the giant ciliate Stentor coeruleus provides unique features of large size, highly reproducible patterns and cellular landmarks, and a remarkable ability to heal wounds that allows microsurgical approaches of a type normally seen in embryology. Stentor was a popular model organism for exploring the mechanism of cellular morphogenesis and regeneration but was never developed as a molecular model system. We have now sequenced the Stentor genome and developed a method for testing gene function by RNAi. We propose to use these genomic tools to test a set of hypothesis about how the cell cortex and nuclear work together to direct pattern formation during cell development and allow regeneration of cellular structures following surgical removal. We expect our studies to open a new window onto the mechanisms by which cells form patterns and develop complex structures, which is a universal problem throughout all of biology.