Collaborative Research: Evolutionary Origins of Chiton Shell-eyes: Integrating Structure, Function, and Gene Expression within a Phylogenetic Context

生物学中的基本问题包括：复杂的特征，如眼睛，是如何通过潜在的子成分的变化而进化的？连接简单的感光结构和复杂的图像形成眼睛的功能过渡步骤是什么？该奖项支持的研究使用石鳖（软体动物：多placophora）进行综合研究，以询问眼睛如何以及为什么进化。具体而言，该提案涉及：1)与新的光相互作用结构起源相关的基因型变化；2)新的光相互作用结构与新的光影响行为之间的关系。石鳖的综合研究将有助于推进生物材料领域的发展。研究石鳖的文石晶状体将有助于研究人员了解动物如何通过生物矿化过程构建精确形状的结构。研究石鳖眼睛的起源也将通过展示复杂的特征是如何通过逐步的过程进化而来，从而有助于反驳流行的关于进化的误解。本科生和研究生的培训，以及公众宣传工作也纳入了这个项目。该奖项的研究目标遵循镶嵌在石鳖壳板中的独特感觉器官（审美观）：光感受器、眼点和眼睛（文石透镜）。具体而言，该奖项支持以下研究：(1)确定无眼石鳖中负责光探测的分子成分，并建立这些动物表现出的视觉影响行为；(2)表征某些石鳖眼斑相关的色素和色素产生基因，并确定这些物种特有的光影响行为；(3)研究具有眼睛的石斛中赋予空间视觉的分子成分，并鉴定可能与文石晶状体发育相关的基因。这些研究的结果将发表在同行评议的期刊上，并在科学会议上传播。

Fundamental questions in biology include: How do complex traits, such as eyes, evolve through changes in underlying sub-components? What are the transitional steps in function that link simple light-sensitive structures and complex image-forming eyes? The studies supported by this award use chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) in an integrative research approach to ask how and why eyes evolve. Specifically, the proposal addresses: 1) changes in genotype associated with the origin of new light-interacting structures and 2) relationships between new light-interacting structures and new light-influenced behaviors. Integrative research on chitons will help advance the field of biomaterials. Studying the aragonite lenses of chitons will help researchers learn how animals build precisely shaped structures through the process of biomineralization. Studying the origin of eyes in chitons will also help counter popular misconceptions about evolution by demonstrating how complex traits evolve through stepwise processes. Undergraduate and graduate training, as well as public outreach efforts are also integrated into this project. The research objectives for this award follow the unique sensory organs (aesthetes) embedded in chiton shell plates: photoreceptors, eyespots, and eyes (with aragonite lenses). Specifically, the award supports studies to: (1) Identify the molecular components responsible for light-detection in eyeless chitons and establish the visually-influenced behaviors displayed by these animals; (2) Characterize the pigments and pigment-producing genes associated with the eyespots of certain chitons and establish the light-influenced behaviors unique to these species; and (3) Investigate the molecular components that confer spatial vision in chitons with eyes and identify genes that may be associated with the development of their aragonite lenses. Results from the studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at scientific meetings.