蚂蟥Whitmania pigra为药材水蛭的基原动物，是治疗心血管疾病中成药的主要原料。蚂蟥的“生殖发育”习性显著影响其养殖效率。目前有关蚂蟥生殖发育机理的研究鲜见报道。本课题拟通过组织结构学、生物化学、分子生物学、蛋白质组学等方法，研究蚂蟥生殖发育过程中雌雄生殖腺组织结构、生殖细胞形态及染色体结构，明确蚂蟥生殖细胞发育各阶段时间，同时研究内外源性类固醇激素对蚂蟥生殖细胞发育的影响，揭示蚂蟥生殖发育激素作用机理；在上述研究基础上，运用蛋白质组学技术筛选蚂蟥生殖细胞发育关键差异蛋白和蛋白修饰位点，并对相关功能蛋白进行验证，阐明蚂蟥生殖发育蛋白作用机制；综合激素及蛋白作用机理，运用相关生物学分析技术，揭示蚂蟥生殖发育机理。本研究可为蚂蟥生殖发育和调控的研究提供基础资料，同时为“生殖细胞发育”模式动物的建立提供一种“同步性雌雄同体”物种。

Whitmania pigra is the main raw animal of medicinal, which is one of the main raw meterials for a variety of proprietary Chinese medicine treatment of cardiovascular disease. The reproductive development habits of leech affect the efficiency of breeding significantly. However, there are not too many studies related to the mechanism of leech reproductive development. This research plans to study the reproductive development mechanism of leech by histology, biochemistry, molecular biology, proteomics and other methods. This research will ascertain the time in different stages of the leeches germ cell development by studying the structure of male and female gonad tissue structure, germ cell morphology and chromosome structure during the process of germ cell development of leech. Furthermore, it will study the influences of endogenous and exogenous sex steroid hormones on the germ cell development of leech to demonstrate the hormones mechanism of leech’s reproductive development. On the basis of the previous research, screen key differentially expressed proteins and protein modification and identify related functional protein through the proteomics technology, in order to explain proteomic mechanism during the reproductive development of leech. On the basis of the mechanism of hormones and proteins, the research will illustrate mechanism of reproductive development though the application of relevant biological analysis technology. This research will provide scientific basis for the regulation of reproductive development of W. pigra and provide a “synchronicity hermaphrodite” species for the establishment of model animals “germ cell development”.