Primordial Germ Cell Determination in Echinoderms

摘要Wessel建议#IOB-0620607有性繁殖需要形成专门的细胞，称为配子。这些细胞的前体被称为原始生殖细胞，在有机体的生命早期就被确定为胚胎。在这项应用中，Wessel博士将研究哪些分子对海胆胚胎中原始生殖细胞的发育和确定至关重要。这是一个重要的过程，原因有很多，包括这些细胞是干细胞，在海胆中研究这一过程可能有助于我们对干细胞生物学的基本理解。韦塞尔博士还将研究其他具有不同发育策略的棘皮动物是如何产生原始生殖细胞的。这项比较研究将使研究人员能够研究原始宝石细胞是如何根据胚胎发育机制的差异而产生的。该项目还将对研究生和本科生进行广泛的现代实验技术培训。结果将在同行评议的出版物中广泛传播，并为K-12学生提供在线服务。

ABSTRACT WESSEL Proposal # IOB-0620607Sexual reproduction requires the formation of specialized cells, called gametes. The precursors of these cells, referred to as primordial germ cells, are determined very early in the life of the organism - as an embryo. In this application Dr. Wessel will examine what molecules are important for primordial germ cell development and determination in the sea urchin embryo. This is an important process for several reasons including that these cells are stem cells and studying this process in the sea urchin may help in our fundamental understanding of stem cell biology. Dr. Wessel will also examine how other echinoderms with different developmental strategies make their primordial germ cells. This comparative study will enable investigators to study how the primordial gems cells arise depending on differences in developmental mechanisms of the embryo. This project will also train graduate and undergraduate students in a wide array of modern experimental techniques. The results will be broadly disseminated in peer reviewed publications and online for K-12 students.