RUI: Genomic architecture of adaptive radiation: a role for gene duplication among African cichlid radiations

在生命的三个领域中，基因复制和复制的后续进化是遗传和功能新颖性的重要来源。由于非洲慈鱼经历了快速、最近和重复的物种形成事件，它们构成了检验关于基因复制在进化扩张、物种形成和适应环境中的作用的长期假说的理想模型。该项目将使用现代基因组技术，使用基因组杂交来识别复制的基因。将调查特定功能类别的基因重复数、基因重复率和基因复制的保留情况，以确定与物种强化和生态多样化的关系。对这类鱼类复制基因的序列分析将解决自然选择在多大程度上对基因复制的进化负责。除了对丽鱼研究社区的基因组资源做出重大贡献外，该项目还推进了关于复制基因的进化及其对多样性和适应的贡献的广泛研究。该项目在里德学院进行，将加强基因组学/生物信息学计划，利用个人信息系统的跨学科合作。大数据集的尖端技术和操作将通过组建一个包括数学和生物本科生在内的跨学科研究团队来提供严格的培训。此外，这项研究将直接与比较功能基因组学的PIS教学相联系，并将被纳入动物多样性和基因组进化的推广教学模块。

Gene duplication and the subsequent evolution of the duplicates is an important source of genetic and functional novelty in all three domains of life. As the African cichlid fishes have undergone rapid, recent and repeated speciation events, they constitute an ideal model with which to test long-standing hypotheses about the role of gene duplication in evolutionary expansion, speciation and adaptation to the environment. This project will employ modern genomic techniques using genomic hybridization to identify duplicated genes. Gene duplicate number, gene duplication rate and retention of gene duplicates from specific functional categories will be investigated for an association with enhanced speciation as well as ecological diversification. Sequence analysis of duplicated genes across this group of fishes will address the degree to which natural selection is responsible for the evolution of gene duplicates.In addition to the significant contribution to genomic resources for the cichlid research community, this project also advances a broad range of studies concerning the evolution of duplicated genes and their contribution to diversity and adaptation. The project, conducted at Reed College, will strengthen the genomics/bioinformatics program, capitalizing upon the PIs interdisciplinary collaborations. The cutting edge techniques and manipulation of large datasets will provide a rigorous training through the formation of an interdisciplinary research team involving undergraduate students of mathematics and biology. Furthermore, the research will be directly linked with the PIs teaching in Comparative Functional Genomics and will be incorporated into outreach teaching modules on animal diversity and genome evolution.