Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
I request summer stipend support for one undergraduate researcher (Jonathan Hobbs) in
the Department of Biology at University of Kentucky. Jonathan will quantify the extent
to which genetic resources that we have developed for two model ambystomatid species
(A. t. tigrinum and A. mexicanum) can be extended to other ambystomatid species.
Relatively little DNA sequence has been obtained from closely related species of model
organisms, and yet, such extensions would powerfully enable genetic studies of natural
phenotypes, population structures, and species boundaries. Ambystoma is an excellent
model system because multiple, recently derived lineages offer a diversity of life history
characteristics for genetic study, including the conspicuous expression of metamorphosis
and paedomorphosis. We have characterized single nucleotide polymorphisms from 123
orthologous A. mexicanum and A. t. tigrinum ESTs and have designed PCR primer pairs
that yield amplification products of the expected sizes. Jonathan will attempt to extend
this information to other ambystomatid salamanders species by performing PCR and
confirming results by DNA sequencing. This work should result in a very nice
publication that will inform molecular, developmental, evolutionary, and ecological
research communities. In addition to laboratory work, Jonathan will attend weekly lab
meetings to accomplish two objectives. First, he will be introduced to basic concepts of
evolutionary developmental biology and molecular evolution, through readings of current
journal articles. Second, he will discuss progress towards accomplishing his research
objectives. Overall, the proposed REU activity will provide research experience in
molecular biology, development, genetics, and bioinformatics.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 5/11/04 → 7/31/06 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation
Fingerprint
Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Projects
- 1 Finished