Submitted by Rachel B BREM on
A key goal of evolutionary genetics is to pin down the natural DNA sequence changes that underlie trait variation across wild organisms. In eukaryotes, the tools to do this usually rely on the ability to mix up genomes by meiotic recombination, and can only be applied to individuals of a given species that can be mated together to produce meiotic progeny. Our lab has developed a new approach, called RH-seq, that doesn't require recombination and thus can be used to dissect trait differences between species that are reproductively isolated. We have used thermotolerance of budding yeast as a model system for the approach. Our first paper identified eight genes underlying thermotolerance differences between yeast species whose last common ancestor was five million years ago. We are now pursuing the mechanisms by which the variants in these genes confer their effects. Undergraduate researchers will contribute to these experiments and shed light on how evolution builds traits over very long timescales.
Undergraduate researchers on the project will make transgenic yeast strains and measure cell growth, cell division phenotypes, and protein stability.
Interest in evolution is a must. Expertise in molecular biology is also required. In SPUR interviews with the PI of this project, please be ready to describe any previous research experience in terms of the big-picture research question you were addressing and what your own work did to answer it.