Collaborative Research: Development of sexual cycles in marine picoprasinophytes based on molecular homologies with Chlamydomonas sexual cycles

这个跨学科的研究项目解决了两个首要目标，将在prasinophytes，一组被认为是代表祖先的植物，引起了绿色血统（包括所有的陆地植物）探索。首先，假设将被测试，同源异型蛋白异二聚化代表了一个保守的特点，在绿色藻类的单倍体/二倍体转换。第二，自然和/或基因工程的性周期将开发海洋picoprasinophyte藻类Ostreococcus和Micromonas基于它们的性别相关的基因禀赋和模式绿色衣原体之间的表观同源性。pikoprasinophytes有小的基因组（4测序日期），是密集的生态分析的主题，因为它们广泛分布在海洋环境中，他们进行光合作用。这两个合作实验室将从事密集的本科生和研究生培训以及博士后学者的指导。为弱势9年级学生的WISE计划将侧重于海洋生态系统，藻类生态和进化以及分子生物学的基础知识，通过在当地沃茨动手工作。该计划的目标是让年轻女性在科学领域蓬勃发展。总的来说，这个合作项目将加深我们对藻类同源异型蛋白“工具包”的理解，并在陆地植物的进化过程中扩大，并促进对海洋生物生态重要群体的研究。

This interdisciplinary research project addresses two overarching objectives that will be explored in the prasinophytes, a group thought to represent the ancestral alga that gave rise to the green lineage (which includes all land plants). First, the hypothesis will be tested that homeoprotein heterodimerization represents a conserved feature of haploid/diploid transitions in green algae. Second, natural and/or genetically engineered sexual cycles will be developed for the marine picoprasinophyte algae Ostreococcus and Micromonas based on apparent homologies between their sex-related gene endowment and the model green alga Chlamydomonas. The pikoprasinophytes have small genomes (4 sequenced to date) and are the subject of intensive ecological analysis because of their widespread distribution in the marine environments where they perform photosynthesis. The two collaborative laboratories will engage in intensive undergraduate and graduate student training as well as mentoring of postdoctoral scholars. The WISE program for disadvantaged 9th graders will focus on marine ecosystems, algal ecology and evolution as well as basics of molecular biology via hands-on work in local waters. The goal of this program is to keep young women thriving in the sciences. Overall this collaborative project will deepen our understandings of the algal homeoprotein "toolkits" co-opted and expanded during the evolution of land plants, and facilitate studies of an ecologically vital group of marine organisms.