Project Details
Projekt
A comprehensive approach towards adaptation in Drosophila
Applicant
Dr. Fabian Staubach
Subject Area
Evolutionary Cell and Developmental Biology (Zoology)
Term
from 2010 to 2012
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 173034972
Understanding of the process of adaptation as well as determining its targets is essential in the study of biological evolution, especially since it has become apparent that adaptation may shape whole genomes by its long range effects. To get new insights into the process and the targets, I will perform a genome scan for selection in 192 Drosophila strains currently being resequenced and phenotyped. The putative targets of selection from this scan will be cross-referenced with evidence of climate related adaptation associated with the recent out of Africa expansion of Drosophila. Therefore high throughput Solexa data on 6 population samples along three latitudinal clines in the northern and southern hemisphere will be analyzed. Specifically I will test a hypothesis that alleles which have been adaptive in the spread from Africa into temperate regions are often specifically adaptive in colder regions and thus should be present at higher frequencies in the colder latitudes. This cross-reference will allow me to cross-validate inferences of adaptation of the initial genome scan and to reevaluate the role of partial selective sweeps in the adaptive process. In parallel I will perform artificial selection experiments in population cages at 16°C and 29°C to trace the frequency of putatively climate adaptive mutations in a selective environment. This will facilitate corroboration of candidates as well as estimation of selection coefficients. In a final step the candidates from this analysis will be linked to phenotypes by association mapping data on the 192 highly inbred, resequenced Drosophila strains. This new and comprehensive approach will make it feasible to directly link a large set of targets of selection to their corresponding phenotypes.
DFG Programme
Research Fellowships
International Connection
USA
