Molecular genetic study of vulval development in nematodes C. elegans and C. briggsae

真核生物的形态多样性很大程度上源于基因表达和功能模式的差异。生物学研究表明，这种变异最终归因于自然界中发现的以缓慢速度自发发生的DNA突变。DNA序列的改变在两个层面上产生影响。首先，它们可以改变蛋白质的结构，从而影响蛋白质复合体的形成；其次，它们可以通过改变调节蛋白质识别的关键核苷酸来影响基因的表达。因此，了解DNA的变化是如何与表型变异联系在一起的，是现代生物学中一个有趣的问题。这份提案描述了一系列解决这些问题的实验。我们将使用自由生活的微小蠕虫(线虫)，线虫，秀丽线虫和桥形线虫，它们大约1毫米长，由不到1000个细胞组成。尽管有数百万年的分离，这些动物与人类和其他有机体有许多共同的基因。这使它们成为了解所有真核生物中发生的现象的理想模型。

Much of the morphological diversity in eukaryotes results from differences in the pattern of gene expression and function. Biological research has shown that such variations are ultimately attributed to mutations in DNA that are found to occur spontaneously at slow rate in nature. Alterations in DNA sequences impact at two levels. First, they can change the structure of proteins thereby influencing the formation of protein complexes, and second, they can affect gene expression by varying crucial nucleotides recognized by regulatory proteins. Thus, understanding how changes in DNA are linked to phenotypic variations is a fascinating problem in modern biology. This proposal describes a series of experiments to address these questions. We will use the free-living tiny worms (nematodes) Caenorhabditis elegans and C. briggsae that are roughly 1 millimeter long and composed of fewer than 1000 cells. In spite of millions of years of separation these animals share many genes with human and other organisms. This makes them an ideal model for understanding phenomena that occur in all eukaryotes.