• Login
    View Item 
    •   SMARTech Home
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
    • Undergraduate Research Option Theses
    • View Item
    •   SMARTech Home
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
    • Undergraduate Research Option Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Coupling the Developmental Programs of Teeth and Taste Buds in Malawi Cichlids

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    alexander_macdougall_200905.pdf (6.024Mb)
    Date
    2009-05-04
    Author
    MacDougall, Alexander I.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Epithelial tissue of vertebrate organisms serves as the interface between them and the immediate environment with which they interact. Transformation of this outer tissue layer generates specialized structures that allow organisms to make enhanced or entirely new interactions with its ecological niche. This study examines two structures derived from the oropharyngeal cavity epithelium: teeth and taste buds. Using cichlids from Lake Malawi in eastern Africa as a model, this study seeks to show the co-evolutionary relationship that likely exists between teeth and taste buds. Based on the observations that both teeth and taste buds are derived from the epithelium, are colocalized sensory organs within the oropharyngeal cavity, have very similar structures in early development, and share certain patterns in gene expression, we hypothesize that the gene networks governing tooth and taste bud development are similar. Through comparative morphology and molecular developmental biology, this study shows that both teeth and taste buds share similarities of gene expression in both spatial and temporal patterns.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1853/28285
    Collections
    • School of Biology Undergraduate Research Option Theses [145]
    • Undergraduate Research Option Theses [841]

    Browse

    All of SMARTechCommunities & CollectionsDatesAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypesThis CollectionDatesAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypes

    My SMARTech

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage StatisticsView Google Analytics Statistics
    facebook instagram twitter youtube
    • My Account
    • Contact us
    • Directory
    • Campus Map
    • Support/Give
    • Library Accessibility
      • About SMARTech
      • SMARTech Terms of Use
    Georgia Tech Library266 4th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30332
    404.894.4500
    • Emergency Information
    • Legal and Privacy Information
    • Human Trafficking Notice
    • Accessibility
    • Accountability
    • Accreditation
    • Employment
    © 2020 Georgia Institute of Technology