Genetic Basis of Pigmentation Evolution in Drosophila

生物最共同的特征之一，也是植物、动物和细菌共有的特征，就是它们有各种不同的大小、形状和颜色。这个项目的目标是理解这些差异是如何产生的。这将通过研究导致同种和不同种类果蝇体色差异的基因变化来完成。负责个体之间色素沉着差异的基因将被识别出来，然后仔细研究它们是如何改变的，以创造出不同颜色和色素沉着模式的果蝇。遗传分析（即使不同体色的果蝇交配）、转基因分析（即在个体或物种之间移动基因）和自然种群中色素沉着分析的结合将用于实现这一目标。了解果蝇的色素沉着如何进化提供了关于进化过程如何运作的信息。基因决定了所有动物的特征，基因内部的差异会造成个体之间的差异。因为所有基因都遵循相同的规则，导致果蝇色素沉着差异的基因变化类型也应该导致其他特征的进化，包括人类和黑猩猩之间的差异。

One of the most common features of living things, a feature that is shared among plants, animals, and bacteria, is that they come in a variety of different sizes, shapes and colors. The goal for this project is to understand how these differences are created. This will be accomplished by studying the genetic changes that are responsible for differences in body color among fruit flies of the same and different species. The genes responsible for pigmentation differences between individuals will be identified, and then examined closely to figure out how they have changed to create flies with different colors and patterns of pigmentation. A combination of genetic analysis (i.e. mating flies with different body colors), transgenic analysis (i.e. moving genes between individuals or species), and analysis of pigmentation in natural populations will be used to accomplish this goal.Understanding how pigmentation evolves in fruit flies provides information about how the evolutionary process works in general. Genes specify the characteristics of all animals, and differences within genes can create differences between individuals. Because all genes follow the same rules, the types of genetic changes responsible for differences in fly pigmentation should also be responsible for the evolution of other traits, including those that differ between humans and chimpanzees.