POWRE: Evolution and Persistence of the T-Haplotype in Finite Populations

9752945杜兰德超级鱼基因复合体(USGC‘s)，已在几个物种中观察到，是具有侵略性和危害性的染色体实体。它们传递给后代的频率比遗传上的同类基因更高，这违反了孟德尔定律。然而，它们对携带它们的有机体是有害的，因为它们会导致不育，并经常携带隐性致命突变。USGC的进化是单个有机体中遗传要素之间竞争进化的一个例子，令人感兴趣。玛丽·丹妮·杜兰德这项工作的长期目标是了解USGC是如何在种群中进化的。当前项目的目标是通过开发在小鼠中发生的USGC的组合模型来证明模拟和分析方法的组合可以成为这一领域的有效研究工具。计算机模拟和马尔可夫模型将被用来研究超级鱼基因在小种群中的行为，在小种群中，USGC频率的随机变化对这些元素的生存能力有很大影响。对USGC突变的计算机模拟将显示不同的攻击性变体如何在选择压力下竞争。拟议工作的预期结果包括研究USGC的进化和种群动力学的新工具，关于调节USGC进化的基本种群遗传机制的假设，以及USGC能够产生和持续存在的种群条件的表征。这项POWRE奖允许杜兰德博士通过应用她的计算技能来模拟进化生物学中的一个重要问题来扩大她的研究计划。这项工作应该会提高她在生物科学跨学科领域的显赫地位，而在这个领域，妇女的代表性明显不足。

9752945 Durand Ultraselfish gene complexes (USGC's), which have been observed in several species, are chromosomal entities that are both aggressive and deleterious. They are transmitted to offspring more often than their genetic counterparts, in violation of Mendel's laws. Yet, they are harmful to the organism that carries them in that they cause sterility and often carry recessive lethal mutations. The evolution of USGC's is of interest as an example of competitive evolution between genetic elements in a single organism. The long term objective of this work by Marie Dannie Durand is to understand how USGC's evolve in populations. The goal of the current project is to demonstrate that a combination of simulation and analytic methods can be an effective research tool in this area by developing a combined model of a USGC that occurs in mice. Computer simulations and Markov models will be used to study the behavior of ultraselfish genes in small populations where stochastic variations in USGC frequency have a big impact on the ability of such elements to survive. Computer simulations of mutations in USGC's will show how different aggressive variants compete under selective pressure. The expected results of the proposed work include new tools for studying the evolution and population dynamics of USGC's, hypotheses concerning the basic population genetic mechanisms that mediate their evolution and characterization of the population conditions under which USGC's can arise and persist. This POWRE award permits Dr. Durand to expand her research program by applying her computational skills to model a significant question in evolutionary biology. This work should increase her prominence in an interdisciplinary area of the biological sciences, an area in which women are significantly underrepresented.