Mechanisms of oocyte renewal in the adult zebrafish ovary

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。动物的繁殖能力在很大程度上是由雌性一生中能产的卵的数量决定的。在哺乳动物中，例如人类，新的卵子只在胚胎卵巢中产生，而在成人中不会产生新的卵子。相比之下，其他脊椎动物（如鱼类）的产卵似乎并不局限于一个独立的发育阶段，而是贯穿整个幼虫和成年生命。尽管这是一个基本的过程，但在任何非哺乳动物的脊椎动物中，人们对调节卵子数量的机制知之甚少。德雷珀实验室将结合遗传学、基因组学和细胞生物学的方法，利用遗传上可驯化的斑马鱼来确定鱼类产蛋的机制。德雷珀实验室的主要假设是，成年雌性斑马鱼体内的新卵是由卵细胞干细胞不断产生的，这种干细胞被称为卵源干细胞。他的实验室将鉴定这些细胞，并确定对它们的发育和功能起重要作用的基因。这项工作不仅对生殖生物学家，而且对其他在发育、进化和干细胞生物学领域工作的人都具有广泛的意义。此外，了解调节鱼类繁殖能力的基本生物学将与水产养殖等更多的应用学科具有广泛的相关性，因为鱼类是世界上大部分人口的重要食物来源，而野生鱼类种群由于过度捕捞和栖息地破坏而承受着越来越大的压力。最后，该项目将为本科生提供优秀的研究机会，实验室将继续与McNair和UC LEADS学者项目合作，为贫困和少数民族本科生提供研究机会指导。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The reproductive capacity of animals is determined, in large part, by the numbers of eggs a female can produce during her lifetime. In mammals, such as humans, new eggs are only produce in the embryonic ovary, and no new eggs are produced in adults. By contrast, egg production in other vertebrates, such as fishes, appears to not be limited to a discrete developmental stage, but instead occurs throughout larval and adult life. Despite this fundamental process, relatively little is known about the mechanisms responsible for regulating the numbers of eggs produced in any non-mammalian vertebrate. The Draper lab will use a combination of genetic, genomic and cell biological methods to determine the mechanism of egg production in fish using the genetically tractable zebrafish for their studies. The Draper lab's primary hypothesis is that new eggs in adult female zebrafish are continually produced from "egg" stem cells, called oogonial stem cells. His lab will identify these cells and determine the genes that are important for their development and function. This work will be of broad relevance not only to reproductive biologist, but also to others working in the fields of developmental, evolutionary and stem cell biology. In addition, understanding the fundamental biology that regulates fish reproductive capacity will have broad relevance to more applied disciplines, such as aquaculture, as fish are a vital food source for much of the worlds population and wild fish populations are under intense and increasing pressure due to over-fishing and habitat destruction. Finally, this project will provide excellent research opportunities for undergraduate students and the lab will continue to work with the McNair and UC LEADS Scholars programs that provide research opportunities mentoring for underprivileged and minority undergraduate students.