IRCEB: The Origin of Barriers to Fertilization and Their Role in Speciation: From Populations to Proteins

人们早就知道，不同物种之间的杂交往往无法产生后代，这种失败是由于受精问题；一个物种的精子与另一个物种的生殖道或卵子不相容。然而，生物学家直到最近才开始详细研究快速进化的基因和蛋白质，这些基因和蛋白质决定了物种之间的受精不亲和性。这个雄心勃勃的多方面项目的目标是鉴定和分析几类昆虫的受精蛋白，辨别控制这些蛋白质快速进化的因素，评估这些蛋白质在分离密切相关物种中的作用，并开发蛋白质分化过程的数学模型。尽管这项研究的重点是昆虫，但它将广泛应用于其他无脊椎动物和脊椎动物，包括人类，因为在昆虫中看到的模式与其他动物群体的模式相匹配。受精问题困扰着许多人类夫妇。这项研究将为可能导致这些问题的过程以及在一组模式生物体中对这些过程的分子反应提供新的见解。

It has long been known that crosses between species often fail to produce offspring and this failure occurs due to problems with fertilization; sperm of one species are incompatible with the reproductive tract or eggs of the other species. However, only recently have biologists begun to study in detail the rapidly evolving genes and proteins that govern fertilization incompatibilities between species. The aims of this highly ambitious and multi-faceted project are to identify and analyze the fertilization proteins in several groups of insects, distinguish the factors that govern the rapid evolution of these proteins, evaluate the role of the proteins in isolating closely related species, and develop mathematical models of the protein divergence process. Although the research focuses on insects, it will have broad application to other invertebrates and to vertebrates, including humans, since the patterns seen in insects match those of other animal groups. Problems with fertilization plague many human couples. This research will provide new insight into the processes that can give rise to these problems and the molecular response to these processes in groups of model organisms.