SGER: Evolutionary Relationship of Gene Structure and Function.

这项探索性研究的小额赠款的目标是使用系谱学方法来确定在担子菌真菌灰盖鬼伞中新交配型基因功能进化过程中的关键氨基酸取代。 以前，DNA序列和系谱分析被用来描述等位基因在一个单一的交配型基因，bl的进化历史。 bl基因位于复合体A交配型基因座内。 相关物种的基因检查和额外的分析被用来确定可能对新的交配型功能的进化很重要的氨基酸取代。 这些推论正在通过在bl等位基因中进行定点突变和交配类型的变化来检验。 如果成功的话，这种方法将提供一种新的方法来分析和获得功能信息的序列数据集，以及提供一个更好的理解交配型基因的进化。

The goal of this Small Grant for Exploratory research is to use genealogical approaches to identify critical amino acid substitutions during the evolution of new mating type gene function in the basidiomycete fungus Coprinus cinereus. Previously, DNA sequence and genealogical analyses were used to describe the evolutionary history of alleles at a single mating type gene, bl. The bl gene lies within the complex A mating type locus. An examination of the genes in related species and additional analyses were used to identify amino acid substitutions that may have been important for the evolution of new mating type function. Those inferences are being tested by making site-directed mutations in alleles of bl and testing for changes in mating type. If successful, thias approach will provide a new method of analyzing and obtaining functional information from sequence data sets as well as providing a greater understanding of the evolution of mating type genes.