Does divergent natural selection drive the early stages of speciation? Australia is a megadiverse country containing more than one million species, including many endemic and endangered species. Nonetheless, human driven activities, including climate change and the introduction of invasive pests, threaten Australia's biodiversity and economic wealth. This project will test how species diversify in response to environmental differences and will provide resources to compliment efforts to better un ....Does divergent natural selection drive the early stages of speciation? Australia is a megadiverse country containing more than one million species, including many endemic and endangered species. Nonetheless, human driven activities, including climate change and the introduction of invasive pests, threaten Australia's biodiversity and economic wealth. This project will test how species diversify in response to environmental differences and will provide resources to compliment efforts to better understand the destructive effects of interbreeding between native and invasive plants. Information on the role of the environment on the origin of new species will help us manage Australia's unique biodiversity. This project will provide research training opportunities in ecology, genetics, and molecular biology.Read moreRead less
Speciation and the breakdown of coevolution during hybridisation. The preservation of Australia's biodiversity depends on understanding its origins and the mechanisms that prevent its disappearance. Interacting genes, such as those coding for the machinery of the cell, evolve together and can prevent the fusion of species during hybridisation. This occurs because the cellular machinery evolves independently in different species, leading to incompatible parts that fail in hybrids. This project wi ....Speciation and the breakdown of coevolution during hybridisation. The preservation of Australia's biodiversity depends on understanding its origins and the mechanisms that prevent its disappearance. Interacting genes, such as those coding for the machinery of the cell, evolve together and can prevent the fusion of species during hybridisation. This occurs because the cellular machinery evolves independently in different species, leading to incompatible parts that fail in hybrids. This project will investigate novel genetic mechanisms that lead to reduced hybrid survival and reproduction, and therefore to the preservation of species. Australian students will receive advanced training at the frontier where ecology, genetics, and molecular biology intersect.Read moreRead less
Adaptive evolution of mutual mate preferences in nature. Working at the interface of evolution, genetics and the environment, our research combines top scientists from Australia and abroad to seek a comprehensive understanding of the origins of biodiversity, and the evolution of new species. Such knowledge is essential if we wish to predict, and hopefully minimise, the loss of biodiversity through human-mediated environmental change. Using a native Australian insect, we are investigating the evo ....Adaptive evolution of mutual mate preferences in nature. Working at the interface of evolution, genetics and the environment, our research combines top scientists from Australia and abroad to seek a comprehensive understanding of the origins of biodiversity, and the evolution of new species. Such knowledge is essential if we wish to predict, and hopefully minimise, the loss of biodiversity through human-mediated environmental change. Using a native Australian insect, we are investigating the evolutionary consequences of the choice individuals make when selecting a mate. In addition to its role in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity, these choices can have fundamental effects on adaptation to changing environments and the long-term persistence of endangered populations.Read moreRead less
Mapping Speciation Genes. Although Darwin's seminal work was entitled "On the Origin of Species", how new species arise is still poorly understood. Modern genetic techniques and quantitative trait loci analysis (QTLs) potentially allow the characterization of the genetic basis of traits directly involved in the speciation process. I intend to conduct two complementary QTL analyses of reproductive isolation in the Drosophila serrata complex. The first will determine the genetic basis of reproduc ....Mapping Speciation Genes. Although Darwin's seminal work was entitled "On the Origin of Species", how new species arise is still poorly understood. Modern genetic techniques and quantitative trait loci analysis (QTLs) potentially allow the characterization of the genetic basis of traits directly involved in the speciation process. I intend to conduct two complementary QTL analyses of reproductive isolation in the Drosophila serrata complex. The first will determine the genetic basis of reproductive isolation between D. serrata and D. birchii, while the second will determine if the same loci are currently under natural selection in D. serrata populations that are sympatric with D. birchii.Read moreRead less
Natural Selection on Mate Recognition in Field Populations of Drosophila serrata. Natural selection on mate recognition is thought to play an important role in the process of speciation. Stronger mating discrimination between closely related species in areas where their distributions overlap, referred to as reproductive character displacement, suggests that mate recognition has been reinforced by natural selection. Drosophila serrata displays reproductive character displacement in areas where ....Natural Selection on Mate Recognition in Field Populations of Drosophila serrata. Natural selection on mate recognition is thought to play an important role in the process of speciation. Stronger mating discrimination between closely related species in areas where their distributions overlap, referred to as reproductive character displacement, suggests that mate recognition has been reinforced by natural selection. Drosophila serrata displays reproductive character displacement in areas where it occurs alongside the congener D. birchii. Using a combination of molecular and quantitative genetic techniques I will investigate how reproductive character displacement has evolved in natural populations of D. serrata. Specifically, the role that natural selection has played in generating this pattern will be evaluated.Read moreRead less
Recombination and the genomic landscape of speciation. This project aims to evaluate how genomes become different during the origin of species by utilising an innovative system where multiple replicates of the speciation process exist. This project expects to generate knowledge in the area of speciation genetics by exploring the effects of sex, migration and selection on the diversity of hundreds of genomes from an Australian wildflower. Expected outcomes of this project include a deeper underst ....Recombination and the genomic landscape of speciation. This project aims to evaluate how genomes become different during the origin of species by utilising an innovative system where multiple replicates of the speciation process exist. This project expects to generate knowledge in the area of speciation genetics by exploring the effects of sex, migration and selection on the diversity of hundreds of genomes from an Australian wildflower. Expected outcomes of this project include a deeper understanding of the maintenance of genetic diversity in natural populations, and development of a model organism for studying the genetics and ecology of speciation. This project should provide significant benefits including enhanced capacity in evolutionary genetics in Australia.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary venomics: Venom system diversification in the animal kingdom. This proposal represents a tremendous opportunity for biodiscovery from the Australian toxic fauna. This will be achieved through the researcher's unique approach of investigating previously unmapped venom systems for divergent, bioactive proteins. An understanding of venomous animal protein evolution has practical implications for the treatment of envenomations - an enormous problem in Australia - as well as great pot ....Evolutionary venomics: Venom system diversification in the animal kingdom. This proposal represents a tremendous opportunity for biodiscovery from the Australian toxic fauna. This will be achieved through the researcher's unique approach of investigating previously unmapped venom systems for divergent, bioactive proteins. An understanding of venomous animal protein evolution has practical implications for the treatment of envenomations - an enormous problem in Australia - as well as great potential in drug discovery and other commercial applications. This project will provide Australian graduate and post-graduate students with finely tuned skills in cutting edge methodological techniques and a fluent understanding of molecular evolution, preparing them to be internationally competitive scientists.Read moreRead less
MULTIVARIATE QUANTITATIVE GENETICS AND THE LEK PARADOX. This research program as the potential to change the way evolutionary biologists view how selection changes the available patterns of genetic variance and covariance. In particular, it will highlight the possibility that a lack of genetic variance in multi-trait systems may be an important mechanism that limits the response to selection. It is therefore addresses a fundamental problem in quantitative genetics that underlies selection li ....MULTIVARIATE QUANTITATIVE GENETICS AND THE LEK PARADOX. This research program as the potential to change the way evolutionary biologists view how selection changes the available patterns of genetic variance and covariance. In particular, it will highlight the possibility that a lack of genetic variance in multi-trait systems may be an important mechanism that limits the response to selection. It is therefore addresses a fundamental problem in quantitative genetics that underlies selection limits in evolution and agriculture.Read moreRead less
A Genomic Dissection of Natural Adaptation in Mate Recognition. Adaptation is a fundamental area of evolutionary biology but we know surprisingly little about its underlying genetic basis. As a process, adaptation poses several challenges for Australian society including bacterial evolution of resistance to antibiotics, HIV resistance to antiviral medications and the evolution of pesticide resistance in agricultural pests. This study will use a model system and genomic tools to test theoretical ....A Genomic Dissection of Natural Adaptation in Mate Recognition. Adaptation is a fundamental area of evolutionary biology but we know surprisingly little about its underlying genetic basis. As a process, adaptation poses several challenges for Australian society including bacterial evolution of resistance to antibiotics, HIV resistance to antiviral medications and the evolution of pesticide resistance in agricultural pests. This study will use a model system and genomic tools to test theoretical models of the genetic basis of adaptation. This integrative approach will enhance Australia's research profile in genomics and evolutionary biology. The project will provide emerging scientists with skills in areas including genomics, molecular biology, evolutionary biology and agricultural genetics.Read moreRead less
Maximising knowledge from dense SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) data using multi-locus analysis. The genomics revolution has made it possible to measure thousands of DNA variants in individuals. This information can be used in many ways, including to find genes that cause variation between individuals in a population and to estimate the size of the population in the past. Our study will lead an analysis method that will extract more information out of such data. This will improve the effi ....Maximising knowledge from dense SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) data using multi-locus analysis. The genomics revolution has made it possible to measure thousands of DNA variants in individuals. This information can be used in many ways, including to find genes that cause variation between individuals in a population and to estimate the size of the population in the past. Our study will lead an analysis method that will extract more information out of such data. This will improve the efficiency of gene mapping methods, including applications in humans for traits related to productive ageing and a healthy start to life, will allow the estimation of genetic relatedness and genetic variation in natural populations, and will lead to more efficient selection programs in agricultural populations.Read moreRead less