Category Archives: genomics

A different perspective on genetic architecture

Posted on 1 Mar, 2016 by Reid Brennan

As an ecological geneticist, I’m constantly reminded how much we don’t understand about the genetic nature of adaptive variation. Sure, we have lots of examples of genes/pathways/regions that seem to be responsible for adaptation, but we don’t really know if … Continue reading →

Posted in association genetics, evolution, genomics, mutation, quantitative genetics, theory | Leave a comment

The 2016 Workshop on Genomics summary

Posted on 29 Feb, 2016 by Elin Videvall

I recently had the pleasure to spend two and a half weeks in the beautiful medieval town of Český Krumlov, Czech Republic. The reason was the popular Workshop on Genomics that was running and I was one of the TAs … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, genomics, next generation sequencing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Neanderthal admixture plot thickens…

Posted on 25 Feb, 2016 by Arun Sethuraman

Previous studies of archaic admixture from Altai Neanderthals and Denisovans into modern humans outside of Africa have put forth several lines of evidence for gene flow from Neanderthals into common ancestors of Eurasian populations, from Denisovans into ancestors of modern … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, evolution, genomics, mutation, natural history, next generation sequencing, Paleogenomics, population genetics, speciation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Petrous bone is the new black

Posted on 22 Feb, 2016 by Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová

I was just reading an article about skeletal reconstruction of another fascinating extinct species when my supervisor came to my office. I asked: “How about we sequence this creature’s genome?” He replied by asking where the animal had lived. As … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, methods, Paleogenomics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

There and back again: an angiosperm's tale

Posted on 19 Feb, 2016 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the dominant seagrass in the northern hemisphere and provides the foundation of highly productive ecosystems that rival tropical rain forests and coral reefs in ecosystem services. Zostera isn’t really a grass, but a monocot, like a … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, bioinformatics, community ecology, evolution, genomics, plants | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Supergenes and Sparrows with Four Sexes

Posted on 10 Feb, 2016 by Ethan Linck

Supergenes are groups of tightly-linked genes that influence suites of traits relevant to fitness. While long a fixture of evolutionary genetics theory, their role in empirical studies of non-model organisms has been relatively limited, due to limitations in both our … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, evolution, genomics, horizontal gene transfer, natural history, population genetics, selection | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How the White Sands lizards lost their stripes

Posted on 9 Feb, 2016 by Katie Everson

In molecular ecology, most of us work with study systems that are messy, uncooperative, or just plain difficult (note the fecal samples incubating on my lab bench). What I wouldn’t give for a nice, elegant study system — like the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, genomics, population genetics, selection | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Single dispersal of modern humans to Eurasia

Posted on 8 Feb, 2016 by Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová

In a typical ancient DNA study where the number of authors exceeds the number of specimens (actually, equals this time), Cosimo Posth and colleagues sequenced 35 pre-Neolithic modern humans from Europe. By sequencing 35 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes, Posth et … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, genomics, natural history, Paleogenomics, population genetics | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Genomics of Hybridization – Part II, Top three of 2015

Posted on 28 Jan, 2016 by Arun Sethuraman

Death Valley pupfishes (Cyprinodon) are among the most endangered vertebrates on earth, with small inbred populations, with heavy risks of extinction in extreme environments. Martin et al. (2016) in a recent publication quantify diversity and adaptability in a very small population … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, conservation, genomics, methods, natural history, next generation sequencing, population genetics, R, software, speciation, STRUCTURE, theory | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Macroalgal miscellany

Posted on 22 Jan, 2016 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

It’s been a jam-packed week and I’ve found myself at Friday. Grandiose plans for a post continuing the series on clonality (see here and here) did not come to fruition. But, I was saved with a new article that tumbled … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, DNA barcoding, evolution, genomics, haploid-diploid, speciation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment