C. elegans essential genes

我的实验室研究的是一种叫做秀丽隐杆线虫（线虫）的模式生物。它是被科学家选为“模型”的一小群精英生物中的一员，也就是说，它是其他动物的替代品。它们（酵母菌、果蝇、线虫、斑马鱼和老鼠）都被全世界数百个，甚至数千个实验室集中研究。它们各自的特性使它们在研究不同复杂程度的生物现象时特别有价值。秀丽隐杆线虫是最近进入这个精英群体的。它的一代时间短（3.5天），后代多（约300个），是透明的，有一个完全测序的基因组，并有一个最好的有机数据库来整理遗传、分子和基因组数据。秀丽隐杆线虫也是一种具有多种细胞类型的复杂生物，具有多节段的肠道、皮肤（下皮层）、结构化的神经系统、排泄系统和复杂的性腺。我的研究主要集中在高等生物的遗传信息结构，特别是产生对生物生存至关重要的产物的基因的性质和位置。秀丽隐杆线虫拥有完整的基因组测序（1998年完成），是解决这类问题的绝佳生物。生物体的遗传计划包含大约20,000个可识别的基因。我的实验室专注于在实验室条件下生存和高效繁殖所需的子集。秀丽隐杆线虫有超过2500个必需基因（数量与果蝇和老鼠相似）。我的实验室已经在500多个这些基本基因中发现了突变变体（导致可检测到的变化的突变）。这些都是生物学各个方面非常丰富的信息来源。我们的基本基因突变导致了细胞增殖控制、细胞-细胞信号传导的本质、能量代谢和基因调控等方面的发现。在这项拨款中，我建议继续我们使用最先进的分子基因组方法进行基本基因发现的工作，包括整个遗传信息内容的DNA测序。

My laboratory works with a model organism called Caenorhabditis elegans (the nematode). It is in a small elite group of organisms that have been chosen by scientists as "models", that is to say surrogates for other animals. They (yeast, the fruit fly, the nematode, zebrafish, and the mouse) are all intensively worked on by hundreds, if not thousands of laboratories around the world. They each have properties that make them particularly valuable for investigating biological phenomena at various levels of complexity. C. elegans is the most recent entry into this elite group. It has a short generation time (3.5 days), numerous progeny (about 300), is transparent, has an entirely sequenced genome, and has one of the best organismal databases for collating genetic, molecular, and genomic data. C. elegans is also a complex organism with many cell types, having a multi-sectional gut, skin (hypoderm), structured nervous system, excretory system, and complex gonad. My research has focused on the structure of genetic information in higher organisms and specifically the nature and location of genes that produce products that are essential for survival of the organism. C. elegans, with its fully sequenced genome (completed in 1998), is an excellent organism to use when working on this type of problem. The genetic plan of the organism contains about 20,000 recognizable genes. My laboratory has focused on the subset that are required for survival and efficient reproduction, under laboratory conditions. There are more than 2,500 essential genes in C. elegans (similar number to the fruit fly and mouse). My lab has identified mutational variants (mutations that cause detectable changes) in over 500 of these essential genes. These have been a very rich source of information for a variety of aspects of biology. Our essential gene mutations have lead to discoveries in the control of cell proliferation, the nature of cell-cell signaling, energy metabolism, and gene regulation, to name a few. In this grant, I propose to continue our work on essential gene discovery using state of the art molecular genomic approaches, including DNA sequencing of the entire genetic information content.