Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Microbial Biology for FY-2000

Rozen, Daniel E, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for 2000. The research and training plan is in the area of Plant and Microbial Developmental Mechanisms and is entitled "Evolution of Morphological Variation Across Dictyostelid Social Amoebae". While most microbes live solitary lives, a few groups have evolved more complex multicellular strategies. The multicellular structures of one such group, the Dictyostelids, are extremely variable both in size and overall morphology. This work examines the evolution of morphological diversity across Dictyostelid species using a comparative approach. Three questions are addressed: To what extent are mechanisms that affect size and pattern conserved across solitary amoebas (SA's)? What specific molecular changes underlie the divergent morphologies observed across SA species? What is the molecular evolutionary history of genes involved in SA fruiting body size and pattern formation? This research provides insight into the evolutionary origins of their morphological variation and begins to address the evolution of these social organisms from solitary ones.