Dissertation Research: Developmental Analysis of Morphological Evolution: Convergence, Divergence, and the Origin of Novelties in Salamander Pigment Patterns

小行星9423116 脊椎动物的色素细胞来源于神经嵴，神经嵴是一组细胞，也可以形成颅面骨骼、内分泌腺、心脏和外周神经系统。 这项研究将揭示导致这种发展多样化的一些机制。 运动 的 色素细胞可以是 其次 在两栖动物卵的发育过程中。 这项研究将使用分子 技术和实验操作 检查神经嵴细胞之间的相互作用，与细胞外基质，通过它们迁移，并与侧线感觉系统。 结果 将为色素细胞模式的潜在机制提供新的见解，并最终更深入地了解发育模式是如何进化的，从而产生我们在物种内部和物种之间看到的结构多样性。

9423116 Schaffer Vertebrate pigment cells are derived from the neural crest, a set of cells that also gives rise to the craniofacial skeleton, endocrine glands, the heart and the peripheral nervous system. This research will reveal some of the mechanisms that lead to this developmental diversification. Movements of pigment cells can be followed during development in amphibian eggs. The research will use molecular techniques and experimental manipulation to examine the interactions of neural crest cells with each other, with the extracellular matrix through which they migrate and with the lateral-line sensory system. The results will provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying pigment cell patterns, and ultimately, a deeper understanding of how developmental patterns have evolved to produce the diversity of structure we see within and between species.