Dissertation Research: Epistatic Genetic Variation in       Quantitative Characters
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Tarri Joyner', 'PO_EMAI': 'tjoyner@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032927742'}
Genetic techniques will be used to test the effect of genes                extracted from a wild population of Drosophila melanogaster in                  two different genetic backgrounds for characters that are often                 assumed to be controlled by independently acting genes.  The                    experiments are also designed to get information about the                      nature of gene interaction among variable genes in natural                      populations.                                                                         The primary significance of this work is its relevance to                  basic research in population genetics and evolutionary theory,                  in which it is commonly assumed that genes which determine the                  value of morphological characters such as the size or length of                 structures, act independently of each other, so that the change                 that any one gene produces does not depend on other genes.                      However, results from selection experiments in the laboratory, as               well as gene interaction studies, have shown that the effect of                 any one gene often depends on other genes; that is, what is                     usually referred to as the genetic context or background.                       Because the rate of evolution depends on the magnitude of genetic               variation, a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary                    process requires a more complete understanding of the extent to                 which gene interaction affects the amount of variation in the                   characteristics of organisms.                                                        Artificial selection, the chief means of selectively                       breeding improved strains of domestic plants and animals,                       similarly depends on the amount and kind of genetic variation in                desirable characteristics.  It is known that an optimal breeding                program depends on the extent to which gene interactions affect a               desirable characteristic.  This research also explores a method                 of assessing the magnitude of such gene interactions.
[{'FirstName': 'Gabriel', 'LastName': 'Moreno', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Gabriel Moreno', 'EmailAddress': None, 'NSF_ID': '000424361', 'StartDate': '12/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Douglas', 'LastName': 'Futuyma', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'J', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Douglas J Futuyma', 'EmailAddress': 'futuyma@life.bio.sunysb.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000154797', 'StartDate': '12/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'SUNY at Stony Brook', 'CityName': 'STONY BROOK', 'ZipCode': '117940001', 'PhoneNumber': '6316329949', 'StreetAddress': 'W5510 FRANKS MELVILLE MEMORIAL L', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'New York', 'StateCode': 'NY', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '01', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'NY01', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'M746VC6XMNH9', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8815268.xml'}