Real time quantitative PCR system

生殖性状在物种之间经历了快速的变化，这种快速变化的模式也可以在对与生殖有关的基因的DNA序列分析中找到。交配成功的雌雄间竞争，以及影响受精的交配后事件，都可能形成快速进化。我的目标是找出导致精子发育差异、受精前精子竞争相互作用(即精子竞争)以及精子×女性相互作用影响受精的不同适应性的基因。众所周知，受精成功率的差异是有遗传基础的，但通常使用的方法不提供单基因鉴定。现在有可能对整个基因组进行调查，寻找与适应性差异相关的基因表达差异。我的工作将有助于识别与精子发育和受精成功相关的表达模式的基因。需要对基因表达进行实时定量分析，以便通过适当量化基因表达的差异来识别这些基因。识别导致精子发育、精子竞争能力和受精成功率差异的特定基因，将有助于揭示导致不育、物种间生殖隔离和雄性×雌性生殖交互作用的生殖性状的遗传基础。该项目中确定的基因将用于序列相似性的比较基因组搜索，这些序列相似性暗示了与进化转变相关的保守功能和适应性变化。在果蝇中发现的基因可以作为测试具有商业价值的昆虫的候选基因，可以在实验室条件下进行测试。此外，控制果蝇精子发育的基因在人类中也有同源基因(例如BULEE)，因此果蝇精子发育转录组的特征将有助于寻找影响人类男性生育能力的候选基因。

Reproductive traits have been shown to experience rapid changes among species, and such pattern of rapid change can also be found in DNA sequence analysis of genes with a role in reproduction. Rapid evolution can be shaped by intra and intersexual competition for mating success as well as postmating events that influence fertilization. My goal is to identify genes that contribute to differences in fitness caused by differences in sperm development, sperm competitive interactions prior to fertilization (i.e. sperm competition) and sperm × female interactions affecting fertilization. It is known that there is a genetic basis to differences in fertilization success, but the approach generally used provides no identification of single genes. It is now possible to survey entire genomes for differences in gene expression that associate with differences in fitness. My work shall contribute to identify genes with patterns of expression that associate with differences in sperm development and fertilization success. Real time quantitative assays of gene expression are needed to identify such genes through proper quantification of differences in gene expression. Identifying specific genes that are responsible for differences in sperm development, sperm competitive ability and fertilization success will shed light on the genetic basis of reproductive characters contributing to infertility, reproductive isolation between species and male × female reproductive interactions. Genes identified in this project will be used in comparative genomic searches of sequence similarities suggestive of conserved function and adaptive changes linked to evolutionary transitions. Genes identified in Drosophila can serve as candidates for assays in insects of commercial value that could be tested in laboratory conditions. As well, genes controlling sperm development in Drosophila have homologs in humans (e.g. boule) and so the characterization of the sperm development transcriptome in fruit flies will help in search of candidate genes affecting human male fertility.