Genetic Control of Vulval and Uterine Coordination in C. elegans: egl-26 and vulF

即使不是大多数，也有许多人体器官都有导管或管来促进器官功能。指导细胞在开放管腔周围形成管壁的分子和遗传机制尚未完全阐明。这个项目旨在解决“细胞是如何形成管的？”这个问题的答案并不只有一个，因为在不同的器官中，甚至在单个生物管的不同区域中，促成管形成的细胞重排是不同的。然而，重要的是要了解多种具体的管道形成的例子，因为这些生物程序的失败可能导致出生缺陷（例如，缺乏两条管道之间的连接，如食道和胃），这些程序的过度活动可能导致疾病（例如，血管形成促进肿瘤生长）。本项目将重点研究微小线虫生殖系统中管的形成。遗传方法将允许发现影响小管形成的新基因。通过对活的发育组织使用显微镜，还可以确定伴随管形成的细胞结构的具体变化。许多最初在秀丽隐杆线虫中发现的生物学机制已被证明与所有后生动物有关。因此，该项目具有广泛的知识价值，因为在秀丽隐杆线虫中阐明的管状发生原理将在其他系统中得到推论，从而对我们对器官形成的理解具有广泛的意义。该项目的核心部分是一门正式课程，其中包含综合研究部分，将用于招收和培养攻读生物学高级学位的本科生。同样，研究生将接受训练，为独立从事科学事业做准备。因此，该项目在教育领域也具有广泛的价值。完成这项研究的一个重要成果将是培养下一代科学家。

Many if not most human organs have ducts or tubes that contribute to organ function. The molecular and genetic mechanisms that direct cells to form the walls of tubes surrounding open lumens are not fully elucidated. This project aims to address the question "How do cells form tubes?" There isn't just one answer to this question because the cellular rearrangements contributing to tube formation in different organs and even within different areas of a single biological tube are varied. However, it is important to understand multiple specific examples of tube formation because failure of these biological programs can result in birth defects (for example, lack of connection between two tubes such as the esophagus and the stomach), and excess activity of these programs can contribute to disease (for example, blood vessel formation promotes tumor growth). This project will focus on understanding tube formation in the reproductive system in the microscopic nematode C elegans. Genetic approaches will allow discovery of new genes affecting tubulogenesis. By using microscopy on live developing tissues, the specific changes in cell structure that accompany tube formation will also be determined. Many biological mechanisms first revealed in C. elegans have proven relevant to all metazoans. Thus, the project has broad intellectual merit because tubulogenesis principles elucidated in C. elegans will have corollaries in other systems and, thus, wide-reaching significance to our understanding of organ formation. A core part of this project is a formal course with an integrated research component that will serve to recruit and train undergraduate students to pursue advanced degrees in biology. Similarly, graduate students will be trained in preparation for independent science careers. Thus, the project has broad merit in the educational realm as well. An important outcome from the completed study will be the preparation of the next generation of scientists.