Gene regulatory networks control patterning and growth in a developing organism. However, environmental factors may also dramatically affect development to produce morphological diversity. In ant species for example, environmental cues determine whether a winged queen or a wingless worker or soldier will develop from a fertilized egg. / A mathematical model of the gene network that controls wing development in a group of insects is presented. Despite the complexity of the network, numerical solutions of the equations tend to a steady-state that correlates with the experimental expression patterns. Theoretical analysis provides insight into the mechanisms that control patterning of the wing. The effects of genatic and environmental perturbations, which are simulated by varying the parameters of the model, on the dynamics of gene expression and growth are studied. / The results predict perturbations that might be responsible for suppressing wing development in some ant species. This work provides insight into the mechanisms by which wing suppression may have evolved.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.111925 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Nahmad Bensusan, Marcos. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Physics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002487125, proquestno: AAIMR24753, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds