U.S.-Australia Cooperative Research: Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change in Development

这一奖项将使鲁道夫教授A。来自印第安纳州的拉夫 大学与教授唐纳德T。安德森在 澳大利亚悉尼大学。 在两个六周的访问博士。 拉夫到悉尼两年多的时间里，各方面都有了初步的了解， 生活史的两个同源物种的海胆有不同的 发展的途径（有和没有幼虫阶段）将是 考察 研究将包括：（1）通过以下方法建立细胞谱系： 注射荧光细胞标记物;（2）操作分离的 卵裂球，以研究细胞的承诺，并确定 核质比对细胞分裂动力学的影响;（3） cDNA文库和单克隆抗体探针的制备;（4） 形态上不同的发育变异的检查 单种种群;（5）比较胚胎学 描述了几种直接发育的海胆。 本研究的目的是探讨 在早期发展过程中的进化变化， 海胆的同类物种具有不同的途径， 作为一个示范系统的发展。 这项研究将受益于 美国的背景虽然不同，但互补， 澳大利亚调查员。 Raff博士提供分子和 发展方面，而安德森博士的背景是在 无脊椎动物的进化和发展。 研究的生物体是独一无二的 澳大利亚和悉尼大学的资源允许 易于海胆的采集和养殖。

This award will enable Professor Rudolph A. Raff from Indiana University to collaborate with Professor Donald T. Anderson at the University of Sydney, Australia. During two six-week visits by Dr. Raff to Sydney over a two-year period, various aspects of the early life history of two congeneric species of sea urchins having different pathways of development (with and without larval stage) will be examined. Studies will entail: (1) establishment of cell lineages by injection of fluorescent cell markers; (2) manipulations of isolated blastomeres in order to investigate cell committment and to determine the effects of nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio on cell cleavage dynamics; (3) preparation of cDNA libraries and monoclonal antibody probes; (4) examination of developmental variation in morphologically distinct populations of single species; and (5) comparative embryological descriptions of several species of directly developing sea urchins. The purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanisms for evolutionary change in early developmental processes using two congeneric species of sea urchins having different pathways of development as a model system. The research will benefit from the rather different, but complementary backgrounds of the U.S. and Australian investigators. Dr. Raff provides expertise on molecular and developmental aspects, while Dr. Anderson's background is in invertebrate evolution and development. The study organisms are unique to Australia and the resources at the University of Sydney allow for easy collection and culturing of the sea urchins.