Watching evolution in action using transitional forms of lizard pregnancy

通过使用新开发的表观基因组技术和两种表现出产卵、怀孕和罕见的过渡生殖形式的澳大利亚蜥蜴，该项目旨在观察“行动中的进化”，以确定遗传变化如何使复杂特征的进化成为可能。预期的结果是基因组结构如何支持从产卵到活产的转变的新综合，以及第一个说明如何维持过渡生殖形式的计算模型。其好处包括澳大利亚在最先进技术方面的专业知识的发展，悉尼大学和哈佛大学之间新的国际合作，以及脊椎动物进化和多样性方面的知识的显著提高。

By using newly developed epigenomic techniques and two Australian lizards that exhibit egg-laying, pregnancy and a rare transitional form of reproduction, this Project aims to watch “evolution in action” to determine how genetic changes enable the evolution of complex traits. The expected outcomes are a new synthesis of how genomic architecture underpins the transition from egg-laying to live-birth, and the first computational model illustrating how transitional reproductive forms are maintained. The benefits include development of Australian expertise in state-of-the-art technologies, new international collaborations between the University of Sydney and Harvard, and significantly enhanced knowledge of vertebrate evolution and diversity.