Pattern formation and regeneration in a single cell

 描述（由申请人提供）：形态发生和模式形成是任何生物体的重要过程，无论是单细胞还是多细胞。 但与植物和动物的发育生物学相反，单细胞中形态发生和模式形成的原理在很大程度上仍然未知。 虽然所有的细胞发展的模式，巨大的纤毛Stentor蓝斑提供了独特的功能，大尺寸，高度可重复的模式和细胞的地标，以及一个显着的能力，愈合伤口，允许显微手术方法的类型通常在胚胎学。 Stentor是研究细胞形态发生和再生机制的一种流行模式生物，但从未被开发为分子模型系统。 我们现在已经对Stentor基因组进行了测序，并开发了一种通过RNAi检测基因功能的方法。 我们建议使用这些基因组工具来测试一组关于细胞皮质和细胞核如何在细胞发育过程中共同指导模式形成并允许手术切除后细胞结构再生的假设。 我们希望我们的研究能够为细胞形成模式和发展复杂结构的机制打开一扇新的窗户，这是整个生物学的普遍问题。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Morphogenesis and pattern formation are vital processes in any organism, whether unicellular or multicellular. But in contrast to the developmental biology of plants and animals, the principles of morphogenesis and pattern formation in single cells remain largely unknown. Although all cells develop patterns, the giant ciliate Stentor coeruleus provides unique features of large size, highly reproducible patterns and cellular landmarks, and a remarkable ability to heal wounds that allows microsurgical approaches of a type normally seen in embryology. Stentor was a popular model organism for exploring the mechanism of cellular morphogenesis and regeneration but was never developed as a molecular model system. We have now sequenced the Stentor genome and developed a method for testing gene function by RNAi. We propose to use these genomic tools to test a set of hypothesis about how the cell cortex and nuclear work together to direct pattern formation during cell development and allow regeneration of cellular structures following surgical removal. We expect our studies to open a new window onto the mechanisms by which cells form patterns and develop complex structures, which is a universal problem throughout all of biology.