Development and evolution of animal biomineral skeletons

揭示不同生物体生长和发育的发育、分子和细胞机制，是理解当今地球上动物形态多样性进化的基础。然而，目前尚不清楚个体发育过程中基因表达的变化是如何导致当今地球上动物身体结构的多样性的。因此，该项目旨在将基因型与表型联系起来，以了解基因表达和个体发生在生物矿化骨骼进化中的作用。海胆是理解骨骼形态进化的模型系统，因为构建其幼虫和胚胎骨骼的遗传调控网络是众所周知的。此外，它们有一个很好的化石样本记录，这使它们成为一个理想的模型系统，以了解在深时间看到的形态进化变化。本项目旨在量化海胆在个体发育过程中骨骼形态的变化，进而确定骨骼生长的分子机制。然后，学生将把不同发育阶段的棘皮动物的形态与化石记录进行比较，以验证不同棘皮动物群体骨骼的形态差异是由个体发育变化造成的这一假设。

Uncovering the developmental, molecular, and cellular mechanisms by which different organisms grow and develop is fundamental for understanding the evolution of the diversity of animal forms seen on the planet today. It is unclear, however, how changes in gene expression during ontogeny result in the diversity of animal body plans seen in the planet today. This project will thus aim to link genotype to phenotype to understand the role of gene expression and ontogeny in the evolution of biomineralized skeletons. Sea urchins are a model system for understanding the evolution of skeletal morphology because the genetic regulatory networks that build their larval and embryonic skeletons are well known. Furthermore, they have a well-sampled fossil record, which makes them an ideal model system to understand evolutionary changes in morphology seen in deep time. The aim of this project is to quantify morphological changes in skeletal morphology during ontogeny of the sea urchin Mespilia globulus, and then identify the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal growth. The student will then compare morphology at different developmental stages to the fossil record of echinoderms to test the hypothesis that morphological differences in the skeleton of different echinoderm groups is underlain by changes in ontogeny.