DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Interaction of gene flow, selection and genomic architecture on the genetics of adaptation

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Organisms live in complex environments that shape the genetic basis of complex physical traits in varying and unpredictable ways. Understanding the genetic basis of such traits, which can be affected by hundreds of genes, is vital to understanding how populations respond to environmental change. Species in the wild often exist in subpopulations spread across different environments, and each environment may experience different conditions. However, subpopulations can be connected because individuals travel across space and then mate with individuals in other subpopulations. Recent studies on species in the wild have shown that even though migration and gene flow occurs, populations in different environments retain their uniqueness. Scientists are interested in determining how populations retain this genetic separation. Therefore, studies of the genetic basis of particular traits may shed light on this phenomenon. This study focuses on a system where the researchers can control migration and then examine the genetic underpinnings of traits that are unique to different populations. In particular the researchers are interested in how organisms respond to a novel heat stress environment. The work will aid in the training of a graduate student and underrepresented minorities. This study will use the model nematode Caenorhabditis remanei to (1) examine how migration interacts with selection to affect the ability of a population to adapt to a novel heat stress environment, and (2) dissect the genetic basis of heat stress resistance. This project will use experimental evolution and next generation sequencing to dissect the genetic basis of chronic heat stress resistance. By including the effects of migration of non-adapted individuals into a heat stressed environment, this study will not only find the determinants of the genetic basis of heat stress resistance, but will also directly test the hypothesis that low levels of migration increase the strength of the genetic signal underlying novel adaptations.