Analysis of Wing Vein Specification in Drosophila

果蝇adr翼静脉形态分析。比尔和他的同事们将分析果蝇翅膀发育过程中形成尖锐边界所需的遗传机制。他们将比较定义两个静脉边界的机制，目的是提取这种线性结构在发育过程中如何形成的一般原则。他们还将询问类似的机制是否可能用于与蚊子有远亲关系的昆虫。这些进化研究应该阐明在进化过程中边界形成过程是否发生了变化或保持不变。由于边界的形成是发育的普遍特征，包括中胚层（如肌肉）组织的诱导和脊椎动物胚胎中手指的形成等过程，研究人员希望他们发现的许多原理将具有广泛的相关性。就更广泛的影响而言，该项目包括一个教育组成部分，本科生将积极参与这项研究。此外，比尔博士还在他的教科书《卷绕的弹簧：生命如何开始》中以翼静脉发育为例说明边界形成的原理，比尔博士在加州大学圣地亚哥分校的一门课程中也使用了这本书。

Ethan BierIOS 0744662: Analysis of wing vein specification in DrosophilaDr. Bier and colleagues will analyze the genetic mechanisms required for forming sharp boundaries in developing wings of the fruit fly where fluid carrying veins form. They will compare the mechanisms for defining these borders for two veins with the goal of extracting general principles for how such linear structures form during development. They will also ask whether similar mechanisms are likely to be used in a distantly related insect, the mosquito. These evolutionary studies should shed light on whether this process of boundary formation has changed or remained fixed during evolution. Since formation of boundaries is a general feature of development and includes processes such as induction of mesodermal (e.g., muscle) tissue and the formation of digits in vertebrate embryos, the researchers expect that many of the principles they uncover will be broadly relevant. In terms of Broader Impacts, the project includes an educational component and undergraduate students will actively participate in this research. In addition, Dr. Bier has used wing vein development as an example illustrating the principles of boundary formation in his textbook, "The Coiled Spring: How Life Begins", which is used by Dr. Bier in a course taught at the University of California-San Diego.