Does spurious maternal-fetal signalling support the evolution of a placenta

该项目旨在测试一个模型，该模型解释了胎盘如何在鱼类、爬行动物和哺乳动物（包括我们自己的祖先）身上进化成一个新器官超过100次。该项目将评估在胎生爬行动物的卵子保留和蛋壳丢失后，胎盘的调节成分是否会因虚假的母胎信号而进化。该项目的预期结果包括对复杂器官如何在动物中起源和进化的新理解。这将通过更深入地了解我们自己的进化史而造福社会，并为未来更广泛地研究动物器官的起源和进化提供一个框架。

This project aims to test a model that explains how the placenta has evolved as a new organ more than 100 times in fishes, reptiles, and mammals including our own ancestors. The project will assess whether regulatory components of the placenta evolve as a result of spurious maternal-fetal signalling following egg retention and eggshell loss in viviparous reptiles. Expected outcomes of this project include a new understanding of how complex organs originate and evolve in animals. This will benefit society through a broader depth of understanding of our own evolutionary history and provides a framework for future studies to investigate the origin and evolution of organs more broadly in animals.