Coordinated timing of tooth and jaw development

牙齿和颌骨发育的协调时间

• 批准号: 402148-2011
• 负责人: Boughner, Julia
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=573176
• 关键词: Coordinated; timing; tooth; jaw; development

As teeth and jaws grow they must fit together to work properly and allow an animal to eat. Because teeth sit within the jawbone, any developmental or evolutionary changes in jaw shape or size will invariably affect the teeth and vice versa. To understand how a body part develops is to understand how it may have evolved. It is not known how the timing of tooth and jaw development is coordinated such that these parts "fit" together properly during pre- and postnatal growth. My lab aims to explain how the pace of tooth and jaw development has evolved in a coordinated way. One option is that the timing of tooth development is controlled by signals from the jaw tissues, and vice versa. However, good evidence suggests that the opposite is true: the pace of tooth and jaw development has been naturally selected to run in parallel with no cross-talk between tooth and jaw tissues. My proposal aims to tackle this research question using complimentary genetic, statistical and imaging data alongside mammalian models at various stages of pre- and postnatal development. To test if teeth and jaws each have their own non-interacting network of genetic controls with respect to developmental timing, my lab will analyze gene expression in developing tooth and jaw tissues. Using high-resolution 3D computed-tomography (CT) images of jaws and teeth in tandem with statistical tools we will also test if the times at which teeth start to develop are dictated by how much space exists for them in the developing jawbone. Our research will begin to fill a fundamental gap in scientific knowledge by helping to explain how jaw and tooth development is coordinated in time. This insight should further clarify how teeth and jaws have developed and evolved such an amazing variety of different yet functional forms across living and extinct mammals.

随着牙齿和颌骨的生长，它们必须配合在一起才能正常工作，才能让动物进食。由于牙齿位于颌骨内，颌骨形状或大小的任何发育或进化变化都会影响牙齿，反之亦然。了解身体的一部分是如何发展的，就是了解它是如何进化的。目前还不清楚牙齿和颌骨发育的时间是如何协调的，以便这些部分在出生前和出生后的生长过程中正确地“配合”在一起。我的实验室旨在解释牙齿和颌骨发育的速度是如何以协调的方式进化的。一种选择是牙齿发育的时间由来自颌骨组织的信号控制，反之亦然。然而，有充分的证据表明，事实恰恰相反：牙齿和颌骨的发育速度是自然选择的，与牙齿和颌骨组织之间没有相互干扰。我的建议旨在解决这一研究问题，使用免费的遗传，统计和成像数据以及产前和产后发育各个阶段的哺乳动物模型。为了测试牙齿和颌骨在发育时间方面是否都有自己的非相互作用的遗传控制网络，我的实验室将分析发育中的牙齿和颌骨组织的基因表达。使用高分辨率的颌骨和牙齿的3D计算机断层扫描（CT）图像，并结合统计工具，我们还将测试牙齿开始发育的时间是否取决于发育中的颌骨中存在多少空间。我们的研究将开始填补科学知识的根本空白，帮助解释颌骨和牙齿的发育是如何及时协调的。这一发现将进一步阐明牙齿和颌骨是如何在现存和已灭绝的哺乳动物中发展和进化出如此惊人的各种不同但功能齐全的形式的。