Using modern molecular methods to identify and dissect the genetic basis of polymorphic shell coloration of the common Grove snail Cepea nemoralis

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Identifying and understanding the mechanisms that generate phenotypic diversity is a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology. Surprisingly few examples of such variation are holistically understood (from genotype to phenotype, and from the individual to the population). With a diversity of pigmented shell morphotypes governed by Mendelian patterns of inheritance, the common Grove snail Cepea nemoralis has been a model for evolutionary biologists and population geneticists for decades. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Cepea generates this pigmented shell diversity remain completely unknown. Using a variety of techniques (next generation sequencing, digital gene expression profiling, spatial gene expression analysis, Raman spectroscopy and a variety of protein characterisation techniques) we will identify and characterise the genetic loci that influence this variation. These techniques will be employed within the framework of two main approaches in order to increase the chances of identifying these loci: a genotype to phenotype approach and vice versa. The work planned within this proposal will bring a molecular level of understanding to this model of evolution, complementing the population ecology and Mendelian genetic knowledge of Cepea that is already well established. Large scale international efforts to monitor the frequencies of C. nemoralis shell morphotypes across Europe (such as The Evolution Megalab) will benefit from the results of this proposal, paving the way for more in depth studies of this long standing model of evolution.