CAREER: Genetic Dissection of Developmental Evolution in a Poecilogonous Polychaete

我们在动物中观察到的惊人的多样性延伸到它们最早的发育阶段，包括卵，胚胎和幼虫。引起这种发育多样性的分子和遗传机制知之甚少，难以研究。该项目正在建立工具，以促进对海洋蠕虫Streblospio benedicti的发育变异进行遗传分析，Streblospio benedicti的独特属性使其成为解决发育多样性的理想选择。这些动物在美国大西洋和太平洋沿岸沿着的潮间带和潮下带泥中大量存在，它们成年后都非常相似，但表现出两种非常不同的发育模式。然而，具有不同发育模式的个体能够杂交，允许对其卵，胚胎和幼虫进行遗传分析。一组可免费获得的S. benedicti加上其基因组序列和遗传图谱，将使研究人员能够发现动物发育变异的分子机制。这些研究解决了许多长期存在的关于动物多样性进化起源的问题，这些问题以前是实验研究无法触及的。基因组工具还将推动对一组研究不足的生物体的分子和细胞生物学的进一步研究，并将开发对这些动物进行实验操作的方法。该研究与创建一门致力于建立动物多样性知识的本科课程相结合，高中教师和培训教师将参与实验室研究，以进一步实现STEM教育工作者专业学科专业知识的国家目标。

The spectacular diversity we observe among animals extends to their earliest developmental stages, including eggs, embryos, and larvae. The molecular and genetic mechanisms that give rise to this developmental diversity are poorly understood and have been difficult to study. This project is building tools to facilitate genetic analysis of developmental variation in a marine worm, Streblospio benedicti, whose unique attributes make it ideal for addressing developmental diversity. These animals, which are abundant in intertidal and subtidal mud along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, are all very similar as adults but exhibit two very different modes of development. Individuals with different developmental modes are nevertheless capable of interbreeding, allowing for the genetic analysis of their eggs, embryos, and larvae. A freely accessible panel of genetically recombinant strains of S. benedicti, complemented by its genome sequence and genetic map, will enable researchers to discover the molecular mechanisms responsible for variation in animal development. These studies address many longstanding questions about the evolutionary origins of animal diversity, questions that have previously been out of reach of experimental investigations. The genomic tools will also fuel further research into the molecular and cellular biology of a poorly studied group of organisms, and methods for experimental manipulation of these animals will be developed. The research is coupled to the creation of an undergraduate course devoted to building knowledge of animal diversity, and high-school teachers and teachers-in-training will participate in the laboratory research to further national goals of specialized disciplinary expertise for STEM educators.