Fluctuating Asymmetry in Naturally Hybridizing Populations

杂交带是指最近分离的物种或亚种进入二次接触并进行杂交的地理区域，其成功程度各不相同。在这样做的过程中，杂交生物是由进化上分化的基因组合产生的，因此可能不如同一物种或亚种成员之间的交配发挥作用。这种遗传不相容的一个重要方面是发育的中断(个体从胚胎到成年的生长)。这种干扰可以通过个体的左右不对称表现出来。罗伯特·欧文博士建议在四个经过充分研究的不同杂交区域收集哺乳动物左右不对称的形态数据，以确定遗传分化和发育中断之间的相关性。他建议使用一种基于微型计算机的图像分析系统，从早期研究中收集的各种遗传数据的标本中收集骨骼测量数据。拟议的项目将为我们现有的杂交区知识增加前所未有的详细形态数据，从而为研究进化分化和发育的遗传控制问题打开一个新的窗口。

Hybrid zones are geographic areas where recently diverged species or subspecies come into secondary contact and interbreed with varying success. In doing so, hybrid organisms are produced by the combination of genes that have diverged evolutionarily, and may therefore function less well than the matings between members of the same species or subspecies. One important aspect of this genetic incompatibility is the disruption of development (the growth of an individual from embryo to adult). This disruption can be manifest by left-right asymmetry of an individual. Dr. Robert Owen proposes to gather morphological data on left-right asymmetry of mammals in four different well- studied hybrid zones in order to determine the correlation between genetic divergence and developmental disruption. He proposes to use a microcomputer-based image analysis system to gather skeletal measurements from specimens from which a variety of genetic data have been gathered in earlier studies. The proposed project will add an unprecedented body of detailed morphological data to our existing knowledge of hybrid zones, thereby opening a new window onto the questions of evolutionary divergence, and the genetic control of development.