Evolution of Genome Organization in Drosophila
{'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'}
In order to test many evolutionary hypotheses, it is                       necessary to have a good understanding of the phylogenetic                      history of the group being studied.  Powell and colleagues have                 been exploring the use of modern molecular technology to                        determine genetic relatedness; in particular they have measured                 DNA differences among species.  If one makes the assumption that                species become more genetically dissimilar the longer they have                 been separated in evolutionary time, then these genetic distances               reflect history and thus allow the construction of phylogenetic                 relationships.  The group of organisms studied is the common                    "fruit fly" or, more properly, Drosophila.  These flies have a                  long history in genetic and evolutionary studies and are                        beginning to play a large role in more modern studies in                        molecular evolution and development.                                                 The major project support by this renewal is an exploration                of a new strategy to determine degree of genetic differences                    among species.  Previous work has shown that Drosophila are                     extremely fast evolving with respect to changes in DNA.  Even                   morphologically indistinguishable species may have very different               DNA.  Because of this rapid rate of evolution on the molecular                  (as opposed to morphological) level, it becomes difficult to                    compare distantly related species.  This is because they may be                 so different one cannot distinguish homologous sequences;                       homologous sequences are those that are similar due to having a                 common origin.  There is a part of the genome, however, which is                relatively slowly evolving which may be more useful in comparing                species.  This is the portion of the genome which codes for                     proteins; it represents only a small part of the total genome,                  probably less than 10%.  Powell and colleagues will isolate the                 protein coding region of the Drosophila genome and compare it                   among species.  This will not only allow them to determine                      relationships among species, but also allow to compare how                      functionally different parts of a genome are evolving.
{'FirstName': 'Jeffrey', 'LastName': 'Powell', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'R', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Jeffrey R Powell', 'EmailAddress': 'jeffrey.powell@yale.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000392978', 'StartDate': '10/15/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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