A5004735385- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- School Choice and Performance
- Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Insect behavior and control techniques
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Plant and animal studies
- Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Economic Growth and Productivity
- Insect Utilization and Effects
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Insect Pest Control Strategies
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
University of Pennsylvania
2013-2025
Dartmouth College
2024-2025
Janelia Research Campus
2017-2024
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2017-2024
Helix (United States)
2017-2020
University of Lausanne
2018
Williams College
2009
California University of Pennsylvania
2006
In many species, genomic data have revealed pervasive adaptive evolution indicated by the fixation of beneficial alleles. However, when selection pressures are highly variable along a species' range or through time alleles may persist at intermediate frequencies for long periods. So called "balanced polymorphisms" been understood to be an important component standing genetic variation, yet direct evidence strength balancing and stability prevalence balanced polymorphisms has remained...
To advance our understanding of adaptation to temporally varying selection pressures, we identified signatures seasonal occurring in parallel among Drosophila melanogaster populations. Specifically, estimated allele frequencies genome-wide from flies sampled early and late the growing season 20 widely dispersed We frequency shifts across North America Europe, demonstrating that is a general phenomenon temperate fly Seasonally fluctuating polymorphisms are enriched large chromosomal...
Abstract Examples of clinal variation in phenotypes and genotypes across latitudinal transects have served as important models for understanding how spatially varying selection demographic forces shape within species. Here, we examine the selective contributions to through largest comparative genomic study date Drosophila simulans melanogaster , with sequence data from 382 individual fruit flies, collected a spatial transect 19 degrees latitude at multiple time points over 2 years....
Abstract Seasonal environmental heterogeneity is cyclic, persistent and geographically widespread. In species that reproduce multiple times annually, changes across seasonal time may create different selection regimes shape the population ecology life history adaptation in these species. Here, we investigate how two closely related of Drosophila a temperate orchard respond to time. Natural populations melanogaster simulans were sampled at four timepoints from June through November assess...
Finding the specific nucleotides that underlie adaptive variation is a major goal in evolutionary biology, but polygenic traits pose challenge because complex genotype–phenotype relationship can obscure effects of individual alleles. However, natural selection working large wild populations shift allele frequencies and indicate functional regions genome. Previously, we showed two most common alleles amino acid insertion–deletion polymorphism Drosophila insulin receptor show independent,...
Understanding the rate of evolutionary change and genetic architecture that facilitates rapid adaptation is a current challenge in biology. Comparative studies show genes with immune function are among most rapidly evolving across range taxa. Here, we use defence natural populations Drosophila melanogaster to understand evolution genetics underlying change. We probed system using pathogens Enterococcus faecalis Providencia rettgeri measure post-infection survival bacterial load wild D....
Abstract Drosophila melanogaster is a leading model in population genetics and genomics, growing number of whole-genome data sets from natural populations this species have been published over the last years. A major challenge integration disparate sets, often generated using different sequencing technologies bioinformatic pipelines, which hampers our ability to address questions about evolution species. Here we these issues by developing bioinformatics pipeline that maps pooled (Pool-Seq)...
Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are hydrophobic compounds deposited on the arthropod cuticle that of functional significance with respect to stress tolerance, social interactions and mating dynamics. We characterized CHC profiles in natural populations Drosophila melanogaster at five levels: across a latitudinal transect eastern United States, as function developmental temperature during culture, seasonal time replicate years, rapid evolution experimental mesocosms field. Furthermore, we also...
Most empirical investigations of the effects cognitive skills assume that they are produced by schooling. Drawing on longitudinal data to estimate production functions for adult verbal and nonverbal skills, we find that: (1) School attainment has a significant substantial effect but not skills; (2) Pre-school post-school experiences also have positive skills. captured height age at 6 years substantially significantly increase even after controlling school attainment. Post-school tenure in...
Cosmopolitan populations of Drosophila melanogaster have co-opted a form reproductive diapause to overwinter in northern populations. Polymorphism the couch potato gene has been implicated genetic variation for this trait. Using collection 20 from Florida Canada and 11 collections 3 years Pennsylvania orchard, we estimated allele frequencies 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) gene. These include specific polymorphism associated with inducability. We find that SNP polymorphism,...
Wild populations of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster experience highly heterogeneous environments over broad geographical ranges as well seasonal and annual timescales. Diapause is a primary adaptation to environmental heterogeneity, in D. propensity enter diapause varies predictably with latitude season. Here we performed global transcriptomic profiling naturally occurring variation expression elicited by short day photoperiod moderately low temperature two tissue types associated...
Abstract Populations are capable of responding to environmental change over ecological timescales via adaptive tracking. However, the translation from patterns allele frequency rapid adaptation complex traits remains unresolved. We used abdominal pigmentation in Drosophila melanogaster as a model phenotype address nature, genetic architecture, and repeatability field. show that D. evolves highly parallel deterministic response shared variation across latitude season natural North American...
In this article, we couple the geographic variation in 127 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) frequencies genes of 46 enzymes central metabolism with their associated cis-expression to predict latitudinal or climatic-driven gene expression changes metabolic architecture Drosophila melanogaster. Forty-two percent SNPs 65% show statistically significant clines frequency latitude across 20 local population samples collected from southern Florida Ontario. A number screened are also within...
Abstract To advance our understanding of adaptation to temporally varying selection pressures, we identified signatures seasonal occurring in parallel among Drosophila melanogaster populations. Specifically, estimated allele frequencies genome-wide from flies sampled early and late the growing season 20 widely dispersed We frequency shifts across North America Europe, demonstrating that is a general phenomenon temperate fly Seasonally fluctuating polymorphisms are enriched large chromosomal...
Abstract Background Many Drosophila species use acoustic communication during courtship and studies of these systems have provided insight into neurobiology, behavioral ecology, ethology, evolution. Recording sounds associated behavior is challenging, especially at high throughput, previously designed devices are relatively expensive complex to assemble. Results We present construction plans for a modular system utilizing mostly off-the-shelf, inexpensive components that provides...
In this report, we examine the hypothesis that drivers of latitudinal selection observed in eastern US Drosophila melanogaster populations are reiterated within seasons a temperate orchard population Pennsylvania, USA. Specifically, ask whether alleles apparently favoured northern also early spring, and decrease frequency from spring to autumn with expansion. We use SNP data collected for 46 metabolic genes 128 SNPs representing central pathway aggregate allele frequencies association change...
Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) is an Asian pest of grapes and other soft fruits that has invaded North America Europe during the last decade. Here we report its recent occurrence on two islands Comoros archipelago in Mozambique Channel, namely Mayotte Ngazidja (Grande Comore), April 2017 November 2018, respectively. We also document absence from African Channel Western Indian Ocean including until 2013. ashburneriTsacas, 1984 only member species subgroup known Comoros, but it...
Abstract Very little information exists for long-term changes in genetic variation natural populations. Here we take the unique opportunity to compare a set of data SNPs 15 metabolic genes from eastern US collections Drosophila melanogaster that span large latitudinal range and represent two separated by 12 13 years. We also expand this 22-year interval Adh gene approximately 30 years G6pd Pgd genes. During these intervals, five showed statistically significant change average SNP allele...
Abstract Although evolution is historically considered a slow, gradual process, it now clear that can occur rapidly over generational timescales. It remains unclear both how predictable rapid and what timescales are ecologically relevant due to paucity of longitudinal studies. We use common garden approach measure genetic-based change in complex, fitness-associated traits important for climatic adaptation wild Drosophila multiple timescales: an estimated 1-16 generations within each year...
Abstract Homology-directed repair (HDR) is a powerful tool for modifying genomes in precise ways to address many biological questions. Use of Clustered Regularly Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 induced targeted DNA double-strand breakage has substantially simplified use homology-directed introduce specific perturbations Drosophila , but existing platforms CRISPR-Cas9-mediated HDR involve multiple cloning steps and have low efficiency. To simplify plasmids, we designed...
Most investigations of the importance and determinants adult cognitive skills assume that (a) they are produced primarily by schooling (b) is statistically predetermined. But these assumptions may lead to misleading inferences about impacts pre-schooling post-schooling experiences on skills. This study uses an unusually rich longitudinal data set collected over 35 years in Guatemala investigate production functions for (i) reading-comprehension (ii) nonverbal as dependent...
Abstract Drosophila melanogaster is a leading model in population genetics and genomics, growing number of whole-genome datasets from natural populations this species have been published over the last 20 years. A major challenge integration these disparate datasets, often generated using different sequencing technologies bioinformatic pipelines, which hampers our ability to address questions about evolution structure species. Here we issues by developing bioinformatics pipeline that maps...
Populations are capable of responding to environmental change over ecological timescales via adaptive tracking. However, the translation from patterns allele frequency rapid adaptation complex traits remains unresolved. We used abdominal pigmentation in
Abstract Learning is a general mechanism of adaptive behavioural plasticity whose benefits and costs depend on the environment. Thus, seasonal oscillations in temperate environments between winter summer might produce cyclical selection pressures that would drive rapid evolution learning performance multivoltine populations. To test this hypothesis, we investigated evolutionary dynamics ability over timescale natural population Drosophila melanogaster . Associative was tested common...