Evolution, selection and estimation of polygenic epistatic networks in quantitative traits. Traits observed in organisms, such as height, are the result of an individual's genes and how they relate to the environment. But genes do not act alone; they work together in complex interactions. This project aims to understand these interactions and their role in animal production and human disease.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101481
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,000.00
Summary
Integrating ecology and evolution: how does sexual selection affect population fitness and extinction? Improving our understanding of population fitness could produce important new advances in evolutionary and conservation biology. Sexual selection has been proposed to both help and harm population fitness, but unfortunately these opposing effects have been studied in isolation. This project will develop new theory to resolve confusion over the definition of population fitness and its relationsh ....Integrating ecology and evolution: how does sexual selection affect population fitness and extinction? Improving our understanding of population fitness could produce important new advances in evolutionary and conservation biology. Sexual selection has been proposed to both help and harm population fitness, but unfortunately these opposing effects have been studied in isolation. This project will develop new theory to resolve confusion over the definition of population fitness and its relationship with sexual selection. It also proposes ambitious experimental evolution and quantitative genetic studies that will empirically measure the net effect of sexual selection on population fitness and extinction. This project aims to catalyse a change in the study of population fitness and address a conspicuous gap in contemporary evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Multilevel selection and the integrity of mitochondrial DNA. This project aims to investigate the evolutionary conundrum of how and why organelles remain asexual. The widespread occurrence of sexual reproduction suggests that sex is beneficial to organisms. Yet we all carry an ancient genome that never had sex, the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). Theory predicts that mtDNA should no longer exist, because without sex it accumulates deleterious mutations and cannot accumulate beneficial ones. Yet mt ....Multilevel selection and the integrity of mitochondrial DNA. This project aims to investigate the evolutionary conundrum of how and why organelles remain asexual. The widespread occurrence of sexual reproduction suggests that sex is beneficial to organisms. Yet we all carry an ancient genome that never had sex, the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). Theory predicts that mtDNA should no longer exist, because without sex it accumulates deleterious mutations and cannot accumulate beneficial ones. Yet mtDNA does not suffer mutational meltdown and is shown to adapt. This project will explain how, proposing that the combination of two traits, uniparental inheritance and multiple genomes per cell, make up for the lack of sex. This project expects to provide an explanation for the evolutionary question of what keeps mitochondria healthy, important as mitochondria affect ageing and health.Read moreRead less
A paradigm of genomic discovery - an investigation of the allelic architecture of height. Understanding the complexities of the human body from its DNA sequence has proven difficult. Genomic discovery is best developed using stable, easily measurable and highly heritable characteristics such as height. By taking advantage of 2 large population surveys of adult and adolescent stature we shall apply modern molecular techniques and statistical strategies to identify and characterise the exact chang ....A paradigm of genomic discovery - an investigation of the allelic architecture of height. Understanding the complexities of the human body from its DNA sequence has proven difficult. Genomic discovery is best developed using stable, easily measurable and highly heritable characteristics such as height. By taking advantage of 2 large population surveys of adult and adolescent stature we shall apply modern molecular techniques and statistical strategies to identify and characterise the exact changes in DNA that determine height. This work builds on substantial preliminary leads from unique resources and complementary expertise in the scientific specialties. The results from this work will inform other genomic research and provide information about growth and bone biology.Read moreRead less
The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda. This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about th ....The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda. This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about the ancient people of Australasia and their relationship to other human populations worldwide. The research will use cutting-edge methods of DNA and protein sequencing of ancient human material and will provide critical reference genomes / proteomes that will anchor future research.Read moreRead less
The genetic link between local adaptation and speciation. Darwin believed that natural selection drove the origin of new species, or speciation. However, research on speciation during the 20th century shifted focus from studying adaptation within a population to examining the causes of reproductive isolation (lack of interbreeding) between populations. This Project aims to unify our understanding of adaptation and reproductive isolation by examining their shared heredity. Using an established sy ....The genetic link between local adaptation and speciation. Darwin believed that natural selection drove the origin of new species, or speciation. However, research on speciation during the 20th century shifted focus from studying adaptation within a population to examining the causes of reproductive isolation (lack of interbreeding) between populations. This Project aims to unify our understanding of adaptation and reproductive isolation by examining their shared heredity. Using an established system in natural conditions, this project will generate new knowledge on the genetic processes driving speciation. This interdisciplinary research will clarify how biodiversity originates with implications for crops, conservation biology and species responses to environmental change.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100538
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,234.00
Summary
Evolution of mitochondrial diversity regulation. Mitochondria power cellular metabolism. Research suggests that genetic variation in mitochondrial genes can be detrimental and impair energy production, but it can also be advantageous and help organisms adapt to environmental change. How organisms and populations balance these conflicting demands is not known. This project will create and use innovative mathematical methods to provide the general theory of how bioenergetic genes of mitochondria e ....Evolution of mitochondrial diversity regulation. Mitochondria power cellular metabolism. Research suggests that genetic variation in mitochondrial genes can be detrimental and impair energy production, but it can also be advantageous and help organisms adapt to environmental change. How organisms and populations balance these conflicting demands is not known. This project will create and use innovative mathematical methods to provide the general theory of how bioenergetic genes of mitochondria evolve to adapt to shifting environments, while removing mutations that compromise bioenergetics. Expected benefits include informing future applications and new evolutionary understanding of the ongoing effects of climate change in conservation management, agricultural and health industries.Read moreRead less
The evolution of recombination cold spots during speciation. In the absence of geographic barriers, sexual reproduction between diverging populations is the greatest obstacle to the formation of new species. As diverging populations accumulate differences by the action of natural selection, genetic recombination resulting from sexual reproduction eliminates them. As a consequence, cases of speciation with gene flow such as sympatric or parapatric speciation have been considered improbable. This ....The evolution of recombination cold spots during speciation. In the absence of geographic barriers, sexual reproduction between diverging populations is the greatest obstacle to the formation of new species. As diverging populations accumulate differences by the action of natural selection, genetic recombination resulting from sexual reproduction eliminates them. As a consequence, cases of speciation with gene flow such as sympatric or parapatric speciation have been considered improbable. This project will investigate novel hypotheses for the formation of new species in the face of gene flow, and will evaluate empirically their predictions using the groundsel Senecio lautus. Results derived from this investigation will provide novel insights into the old riddle of speciation with gene flow.Read moreRead less
The genetics of replicated evolution. Using an Australian daisy, the project will study how natural selection creates repeated patterns of evolution at the gene and morphology levels. The project will provide students with training at the interface of genomics, ecology, and evolution.
Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. Eucalypts are an icon of Australia and of great economic and ecological significance. This project will use genomic technologies to provide novel insights into the evolutionary processes that shape diversity in this genus. This will contribute to the development of better conservation and management practices for this valuable genetic resource.