Endocrine Basis of Genetic Variation and Covariation of Life-History Traits

9507388泽拉的生活史特征，如开始繁殖的年龄、总产卵量和幼体发育持续时间等，在不同物种之间差异很大。了解这些差异是如何进化的，是理解现代生物多样性模式的重要组成部分，但我们对导致生活史变化的机制知之甚少。这项研究将确定在生活史进化的第一阶段基础上的内分泌机制的差异。它将以蟋蟀为模型系统，确定关键发育和生殖激素的遗传变异如何导致种群的生活史特征不同。这项研究将表明，生殖开始年龄的差异是由于保幼激素水平的时间和浓度的差异，还是由于卵巢激素受体的遗传差异。这些结果将揭示幼虫激素或蜕皮激素系统的遗传差异在幼虫发育持续时间和成年生殖开始之间的相关性中所起的作用。这项研究是进化遗传学、昆虫内分泌学和生活史进化的综合。它将首次确定生活史特征中遗传差异的具体机制以及这些特征之间的相关性。从长远来看，这可能会带来管理昆虫种群的新方法。

9507388 Zera Life history traits, such as the age at which reproduction begins, total egg production and duration of juvenile development differ dramatically among species. Understanding how these differences evolve is an important part in understanding modern patterns of biological diversity, yet we know very little about the mechanisms that are responsible for variation in life histories. This study will identify differences in endocrine mechanisms that underlie the first stages of life history evolution. It will determine how genetically based variation in key developmental and reproductive hormones cause populations to differ il life history traits, using crickets as a model system. The research will show whether differences in age of onset of reproduction result from differences in timing and concentration of juvenile hormone levels, or whether they result from genetically based differences in ovarian hormone receptors. The results will reveal the role of genetic differences in juvenile hormone or molting hormone systems in producing correlation between the duration of juvenile development and the onset of adult reproduction. The research is a synthesis of evolutionary genetics, insect endocrinology, and life history evolution. It will identify for the first time the specific mechanisms that underlie genetic differences in life history traits and correlations between those traits. In the long term, it may lead to new approaches to managing insect populations.