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Genetic mechanisms of morphological diversity between species

学友会セミナー

学友会セミナー

2006年開催 学友会セミナー

開催日時: 平成18年7月27日(木) 16:30~17:30
開催場所: 合同ラボ棟2階 会議室
講  師: Dr. Richard Behringer
所  属: Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
演  題: Genetic mechanisms of morphological diversity between species
概  要:

Natural selection acts on variation within populations, resulting in modification of organ morphology, physiology, and ultimately the formation of new species. Although variation in orthologous proteins can contribute to these modifications, differences in DNA sequences that regulate gene expression may be a primary source of variation. We have replaced a limb-specific transcriptional enhancer of the mouse Prx1 locus with the orthologous sequence from a bat. Mice expressing Prx1 directed by the bat enhancer have forelimbs that are significantly longer than controls because of endochondral bone formation alterations. Surprisingly, deletion of the mouse Prx1 limb enhancer results in normal forelimb length and Prx1 expression, revealing regulatory redundancy. These findings suggest that mutations accumulating in pre-existing non-coding regulatory sequences within a population are a source of variation for the evolution of morphological differences between species and that cis-regulatory redundancy may facilitate accumulation of such mutations.

世 話 人: ○渡辺 すみ子、真鍋 俊也