Recent and Ongoing Projects
Developmental Studies: Dr. Goran Bozinovic recently completed his thesis work addressing changes in gene expression throughout F. heteroclitus development. An atlas of F. heteroclitus development can be found here. Goran also combined morphology, physiology, histopathology, chemical analyses, and gene expression analyses to integrate developmental effects of pollutant exposure in sensitive and resistant embryos. This work provides a foundation for many future projects: effects of other stresses on F. heteroclitus development, fitness effects in hatched larvae, and gene specific studies.
Genome Scans: Ms. Larissa Williams currently is using genomic scans to identify loci potentially under selection in polluted populations. She has identified many loci with non-neutral patterns (indicative of selection) and is in the process of exploring mechanistic aspects of some of these loci. Similar to Goran’s work, this opens the door to a plethora of future mechanistic studies.
Gene Expression Analyses: We are measuring gene expression among F. heteroclitus from polluted and reference sites (nine populations total). These analyses examine fish “common gardened” in the laboratory for up to two years.
Future Projects
Population Genomics: New work is looking at population genetics and connectivity in the blue-headed wrasse, Thalassoma bifasciatum, in conjunction with Dr. Su Sponaugle’s laboratory. The goal is to identify genetic variations that correlate with specific traits, for example, growth, survival, and recruitment. This work has broad implications for marine conservation and fisheries.
Mitochondrial Genomics: We are interested in the effects of pollution on mitochondrial function at both the gene and protein expression level.
Proximal Promoter Analyses: We are interested in comparative aspects of proximal promoters among genes that seem to be adaptively important.