DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolutionary Genetics of the Lac Operon in E. coli

基因编码蛋白质，但大多数并不是在所有条件下都以恒定的速率进行编码。基因表达的这些差异被认为是生物多样性的基础。 本项目利用E.大肠杆菌，这是负责代谢乳糖，以检查影响进化遗传调控的力量。 使用大肠从高乳糖和低乳糖环境中收集的大肠杆菌中，研究人员将确定与这些环境差异相关的lac操纵子表达的差异。 操纵子的DNA测序将阐明这些适应性差异的遗传基础。 研究人员将使用重组DNA技术来操纵基因的调节，然后在实验室中测量操纵菌株的适应性。 对乳糖操纵子的研究在了解遗传调节如何发生方面发挥了重要作用。 这项研究将使用该系统来了解遗传调控的进化，这是生物多样性的主要原因。 遗传调节的变化可能在致病菌和在分解等基本生态过程中起作用的细菌的进化中发挥重要作用。 在这些研究中获得的基本知识将有助于我们今后了解生物多样性的这些经济和社会影响。

Genes code for proteins, but most do not do so at a constant rate under all conditions. These differences in the expression of genes are thought to underlie much of the diversity of organisms. This project uses the lac operon of E. coli, which is responsible for metabolizing lactose, to examine the forces affecting the evolution genetic regulation. Using E. coli collected from high and low lactose environments, the investigators will determine the differences in expression of the lac operon associated with these environmental differences. DNA sequencing of the operon will elucidate the genetic basis of these adaptive differences. The researchers will use recombinant DNA techniques to manipulate the regulation of the genes and then measure the fitness of manipulated strains in the laboratory. Studies of the lac operon have played a major role in understanding how genetic regulation occurs. This study will use the system to understand the evolution of genetic regulation, a major cause of biodiversity. Changes in genetic regulation are likely play a major part in the evolution of pathogenic bacteria and bacteria which function in basic ecological processes like decomposition. The basic knowledge gained in these studies will help our future understanding of these economic and social impacts of biodiversity.