Major
Biology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2020
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Anoles have evolved adhesive toe pad morphologies that correlate with habitat differences. The specific genes and locations responsible for development at the points of variation have not been studied. My objective was to identify the genes responsible for anatomical variation in toe pad structure of Anolis sagrei, a species with relatively small toe pads, and Anolis carolinensis, a species with relatively large toe pads. HCR in situ hybridization was used to make genes fluoresce to visualize expression. Due to the COVID-19 response, data collection was unfinished; however, the FGFR2 gene gave indication of location being between the toe pad ridges.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Thomas Sanger, Professor, Department of Biology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Developmental Gene Expression in the Adhesive Toe Pads of Anolis Lizards
Anoles have evolved adhesive toe pad morphologies that correlate with habitat differences. The specific genes and locations responsible for development at the points of variation have not been studied. My objective was to identify the genes responsible for anatomical variation in toe pad structure of Anolis sagrei, a species with relatively small toe pads, and Anolis carolinensis, a species with relatively large toe pads. HCR in situ hybridization was used to make genes fluoresce to visualize expression. Due to the COVID-19 response, data collection was unfinished; however, the FGFR2 gene gave indication of location being between the toe pad ridges.