RUI: Collaborative Research: Timing and Molecular Origins of Recently Evolved Chiton Shell-Eyes: Phylogenomics of Chitonina

RUI：合作研究：最近进化的甲壳虫壳眼的时间和分子起源：甲壳虫的系统发育组学

• 批准号: 1354831
• 负责人: Todd Oakley
• 金额: $ 35万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-04-15 至 2018-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354831&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Collaborative; Research; Timing; Molecular

Chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) are ecologically important marine invertebrate animals common on rocky shores. They typically have eight overlapping shell plates supplied with numerous sensory organs, which in certain lineages are further developed into tiny image-forming shell-eyes. Chiton shell-eyes are the only eyes known to focus light using lenses made of the calcium carbonate - mineral aragonite. This study will establish how many times, when, where, and how shell-eyes evolved in chitons, employing phylogenetic analyses from DNA for most living chiton species, plus fossils. Chitons are well suited for investigating the origin and evolution of eyes because there is considerable variation in shell-eye morphology that permits comparative studies, behavioral and molecular experiments are feasible, and chiton shell-eyes evolved recently compared to the eyes of other animals. This grant will benefit society because chitons have unique traits including not only mineral-based lenses but also magnetite-coated teeth used for feeding and a robust and flexible form of natural armor that are of interest to the field of biologically-inspired design. Better understanding of chiton relationships will help researchers use comparative methods to study these traits and others. The grant will help develop a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce by funding the training of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers and fostering collaboration between research- and teaching-oriented universities.

石鳖（软体动物门：多板纲）是生态上重要的海洋无脊椎动物，常见于岩石海岸。它们通常有八个重叠的壳板，配有许多感觉器官，在某些谱系中，这些器官进一步发育成微小的形成图像的贝眼。石鳖贝眼是已知唯一一种使用由碳酸钙（矿物文石）制成的晶状体来聚焦光线的眼睛。这项研究将利用大多数现存石鳖物种的 DNA 以及化石进行系统发育分析，确定石鳖中贝眼进化的次数、时间、地点以及方式。石鳖非常适合研究眼睛的起源和进化，因为壳眼形态存在相当大的变化，可以进行比较研究，行为和分子实验是可行的，而且与其他动物的眼睛相比，石鳖壳眼最近才进化。这笔赠款将使社会受益，因为石鳖具有独特的特征，不仅包括矿物镜片，还包括用于进食的磁铁矿涂层牙齿，以及坚固而灵活的天然盔甲，这些都是生物启发设计领域感兴趣的。更好地了解石鳖关系将有助于研究人员使用比较方法来研究这些特征和其他特征。这笔赠款将通过资助本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员的培训以及促进研究型和教学型大学之间的合作，帮助培养一支多元化、具有全球竞争力的 STEM 劳动力队伍。