Comparative molecular evolution of animal and plant RNA-interference: Building a general model of how RNAi facilitates complexity

动物和植物 RNA 干扰的比较分子进化：建立 RNAi 如何促进复杂性的通用模型

• 批准号: 1412442
• 负责人: Bryan Kolaczkowski
• 金额: $ 50.86万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1412442&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Comparative; molecular; evolution; animal; plant

This research will help understand how small changes in the ways molecules work can produce big changes in how living things are organized and interact with their environment. This work is expected to generate broad positive impacts on society. First, this project should improve public understanding of evolutionary theory by detailing how changes in molecules can produce complexity. Second, the training of postdoctoral and graduate students at the interface of computational, evolutionary and molecular biology is expected to help produce a next generation of scientists able to use multiple disciplines to solve real problems. Third, the expansion of distance-learning programs in computational biology is expected to help increase participation of underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines. Finally, understanding how molecules produce complexity is likely to drive future innovations in fields such as biotechnology, synthetic biology and nanotechnology.Understanding how complex life arises through changes in molecular systems is a central goal of evolutionary biology. RNA interference (RNAi) is a molecular system recognized as important in the evolution of complex animals and plants. However, little is known about how molecular changes in the protein and RNA machinery comprising the RNAi system facilitated these rapid leaps in animal and plant complexity. The objective of this project is to determine how molecular changes in RNAi machinery altered the working of RNAi system in animals and plants. This project's methodology utilizes evolutionary analysis of animal and plant gene sequences encoding the protein components of RNAi system to identify important evolutionary changes, experimental analysis of modern day and ancestral molecules to determine the effects of evolutionary changes on how RNAi works, and structural analysis to characterize the mechanisms by which evolutionary changes alter RNAi function. By comparing the evolution of similar RNAi systems in animals and plants, this project is expected to determine the general principles governing how RNAi evolved to contribute to organism complexity.

这项研究将有助于了解分子工作如何在生存事物组织方式和与环境互动的方式上产生重大变化的方式的小变化。预计这项工作将对社会产生广泛的积极影响。首先，该项目应通过详细说明分子的变化如何产生复杂性来提高公众对进化论的理解。其次，在计算，进化和分子生物学界面上对博士后和研究生的培训有望帮助产生下一代科学家，能够使用多个学科来解决实际问题。第三，预计计算生物学中远程学习计划的扩展有助于增加代表性不足的sTEM学科的参与。最后，了解分子如何产生复杂性可能会推动生物技术，合成生物学和纳米技术等领域的未来创新。理解通过分子系统的变化而产生的复杂生活是进化生物学的核心目标。 RNA干扰（RNAi）是一种分子系统，在复杂动物和植物的进化中被认为很重要。然而，关于蛋白质和RNA机械的分子变化如何促进了动物和植物复杂性的这些快速飞跃，鲜为人知。该项目的目的是确定RNAi机械中的分子变化如何改变动物和植物中RNAi系统的工作。该项目的方法利用编码RNAi系统蛋白质成分的动物和植物基因序列的进化分析来鉴定重要的进化变化，现代分子和祖先分子的实验分析，以确定进化变化对RNAI的影响以及结构分析的作用，以及通过哪种进化改变RNAI的机制来改变RNAi的机制。通过比较动物和植物中类似的RNAi系统的演变，该项目有望确定有关RNAi如何进化以促进生物复杂性的一般原则。