DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Male-mediated effects on female germline recombination rates

有性繁殖的生物体的一个独特方面是能够在下一代中重组来自两个亲本的基因和性状，可能选择那些最有利的性状组合，并摆脱那些不有利的性状组合。性状重组的数量因物种、性别、潜在基因在基因组中的位置以及环境条件（如营养、年龄、温度和交配次数）等因素而有很大差异。 由于交配数量的变化是一个有趣的结果，导致科学问题，这是否可能是由于男性引起的变化。该项目测试了男性介导的影响，在他们的后代性状的重组，使用经典的模式物种果蝇，以评估是否遗传背景，环境条件，或两者的某种组合，导致男性的能力变化，通过改变重组率来改变他们的孩子的变异水平。果蝇雄性是独一无二的，因为它们不进行重组;因此所提出的特征可能是雄性影响后代多样性的间接机制。了解导致重组率变化的因素对人类健康具有广泛的重要性，因为重组在某些类型的癌症中起着重要作用，例如人类乳腺癌。 此外，由于已知环境条件会改变重组率，因此这些环境触发因素对于我们理解温度和营养等环境因素如何影响后代的遗传多样性非常重要。该项目将为本科生和研究生提供基于研究的培训，并将支持课堂讲座和其他公共和公立学校教育以及CoPI的推广。

A unique aspect of organisms that reproduce sexually is the ability to recombine genes and traits from two parents in the next generation, potentially selecting those trait combinations that are most favorable and getting rid of those that are not. The amount of trait recombination varies a great deal with factors such as species, sex, position in the genome of the underlying genes, and environmental conditions such as nutrition, age, temperature, and number of matings. Variation due to the number of matings is an interesting result that leads to the scientific question of whether this could be due to changes that are elicited by males. This project tests for a male-mediated effect on the recombination of traits in their offspring, using the classic model species Drosophila melanogaster to assess whether genetic background, environmental condition, or some combination of the two cause variation in the ability of males to alter their children's level of variation through changing recombination rate. Drosophila males are unique in that they do not carry out recombination; thus the trait proposed could be an indirect mechanism for males to influence the diversity of their progeny.Understanding factors that contribute to variation in recombination rate is of broad importance to human well being, as recombination plays an important role in certain types of cancers, such as human breast cancer. Further, because environmental conditions are known to alter recombination rates, these environmental triggers are important in our understanding of how such environmental factors as temperature and nutrition may influence genetic diversity in future generations. This project will provide research-based training to and undergraduate and a graduate student and will support classroom lectures and other public and public school education and outreach by the CoPI.