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https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/156064
DC Field | Value | |
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dc.title | UNCOVERING THE EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL ABDOMINAL APPENDAGE IN BLACK SCAVENGER FLIES (SEPSIDAE: DIPTERA) | |
dc.contributor.author | GOWRI D/O RAJARATNAM | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2019-07-01T18:04:07Z | |
dc.date.available | 2019-07-01T18:04:07Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2019-01-24 | |
dc.identifier.citation | GOWRI D/O RAJARATNAM (2019-01-24). UNCOVERING THE EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL ABDOMINAL APPENDAGE IN BLACK SCAVENGER FLIES (SEPSIDAE: DIPTERA). ScholarBank@NUS Repository. | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/156064 | |
dc.description.abstract | I explore the evolution and development of a novelty in sepsid flies where males have recently evolved an elaborate brush-like appendage on the fourth abdominal segment that varies in shape and size across the family. A comparative analysis showed that male sepsids pay for more ornate 4th sternite brushes by reducing their body size and extending pupal development. I then trace the evolution of the 4th sternite brush, using a phylogenomic analysis, and show that it evolved once, was lost multiple times and reacquired in at least two species. Next, I use an optimized CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system to test the role of candidate genes in its development in two species with morphologically distinct sternite brushes: Themira biloba and Perochaeta dikowi. I find that doublesex and abdominal-A have been co-opted into the GRN underlying 4th sternite brush development in both species. In T. biloba, extradenticle and Distal-less are additionally co-opted while there was no evidence for the involvement of Distal-less in P. dikowi, suggesting that its role in the GRN was either lost in P.dikowi or gained in T.biloba. Surprisingly, I also demonstrate a potentially unique function of doublesex and Distal-less in patterning the adult abdominal epidermis in T. biloba. | |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.subject | evolution, development, novelty, Diptera, CRISPR/Cas9, phylogenomics | |
dc.type | Thesis | |
dc.contributor.department | BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES | |
dc.contributor.supervisor | MEIER, RUDOLF | |
dc.description.degree | Ph.D | |
dc.description.degreeconferred | DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY | |
Appears in Collections: | Ph.D Theses (Open) |
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RajaratnamGowri.pdf | 5.66 MB | Adobe PDF | OPEN | None | View/Download |
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