Evolutionary genomics of postmating RGPIN reproductive challenges

大多数物种交配繁殖，为交配后的雄性-雄性竞争和雄性-雌性互动创造了机会。这些相互作用不仅影响个体的生殖成功，而且影响生存。但它们背后的机制是什么，遗传基础是什么，男性和女性是如何互动的？这项工作有四个目标。第一，确定同种精子优先的遗传学，并表征男性和女性互动在成功受精中的作用。第二，通过调查雄性和雌性在交配后死亡率中的表型差异，了解繁殖如何影响生存。第三，使用高通量基因表达方法来识别与物种内和物种之间的表型差异有关的差异表达转录本。第四，利用已鉴定基因的核苷酸序列信息，结合已完成或正在测序的12种果蝇基因组的可用性，测试候选基因的功能限制和适应性差异。我的研究将有助于理解影响受精成功的机制，以及生殖如何影响女性健康。众所周知，这些生殖差异是有遗传基础的，但通常使用的数量性状基因座(QTL)方法不提供基因识别。我将使用经典遗传学方法和基因组学相结合的方法来识别基因表达的差异，这些差异是物种内和物种之间表型差异的基础。候选基因将被用来测试物种内部和物种之间是否发生适应性分子变化，表明功能多样化。该项目中确定的基因将作为研究其他昆虫差异基因表达的候选基因，以及对暗示保守功能和与进化过渡相关的适应性变化的序列相似性的比较基因组搜索。对果蝇等模式生物的研究有助于阐明其他生物普遍存在的生物过程。

Most species mate multiply, generating opportunities for postcopulatory male-male competition and male-female interactions. These interactions affect not only individual reproductive success but also survival. But what are the mechanisms behind them, what is the genetic basis, and how do males and females interact?  There are four goals for this work.  First, to determine the genetics of conspecific sperm precedence and characterize the role of male - female interactions in successful fertilization. Second, to understand how reproduction affects survival by surveying phenotypic variation among males and females in postmating mortality rates.  Third, to use a high throughput gene expression approach to identify differentially expressed transcripts that associate with phenotypic differences within and between species. And fourth, to use nucleotide sequence information from identified genes combined with the availability of 12 species of Drosophila genomes completed or being sequenced to test for functional constraints and adaptive divergence at candidate genes. My research shall contribute to the understanding of mechanisms influencing fertilization success, and how reproduction affects female health. It is known that there is a genetic basis to these reproductive differences, but the quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach generally used provides no identification of genes. I will use a combination of classical genetics approaches and genomics to identify differences in gene expression that underpin within and between species phenotypic differences. Candidate genes will be used to test for the occurrence of adaptive molecular changes within and between species that indicate functional diversification. The genes identified in this project will serve both as candidates for examining differential gene expression in other insects, and for comparative genomic searches of sequence similarities suggestive of conserved function and adaptive changes linked to evolutionary transitions. The study of model organisms such as Drosophila helps elucidate biological processes that are common to other organisms.