The genomic architecture of adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster

GRIESHOP_UBIO25ARIES

The genomic architecture of adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster

GRIESHOP_UBIO25ARIES

Project Description

Supervisors

Dr Karl Grieshop, Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia – contact me

Professor Tracey Chapman, University of East Anglia, School of Biological Sciences

Professor Cock van Oosterhout, University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences

 

Background

Understanding how organisms adapt to their environment is fundamental to evolutionary biology and a pressing concern amidst the climate and biodiversity crises. Can evolution by natural selection “keep up” with the rapid pace of climate change? Evolution is a slow process of allele frequency changes over generations, but if alleles are dominant when / where they benefit fitness and recessive when / where deleterious – a phenomenon known as “dominance reversal” – it can facilitate rapid adaptation and make the population resilient to fluctuating environments. Further, sex differences in the strength and direction of selection can also affect adaptation. Taken together, dominance reversals between sexes and environments represent an exciting new angle to the study of adaptation, with a rich theoretical foundation, growing empirical interest, and much more to learn.

 

Project

The research integrates quantitative genetics and transcriptomics in Drosophila melanogaster with simulations in SLiM to address these questions:

  1. What is the role of dominance reversal between sex and temperature in facilitating climate adaptation?
  2. What is the genetic architecture of sex- / temperature-specific fitness?
  3. How does dominance-reversed gene expression relate to fitness?
  4. Can we identify specific genomic loci that mediate climate adaptation?

There will be many opportunities to develop your own ideas and tailor your PhD experience to match your career ambitions.

Training

The University of East Anglia is an enriching research environment in Norwich Research Park, home to numerous biotechnology research institutes that offer bioinformatic training and support. The department features a highly collaborative community of leading experts in evolutionary biology (e.g. Bergström, Davidson, Chapman, Immler, Maklakov, Richardson) and forms part of the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. You will receive direct training from the primary supervisor (KG) and his lab in Drosophila husbandry, experimental design, biological statistics, quantitative genetics, RNA extraction, bioinformatics, population genetic simulations, programming (R, bash, Python, SLiM), as well as scientific writing for grant funding and publication.

Person specification

Degree in biology / ecology / evolution / genetics / similar

Helpful skills: Drosophila experience, evolutionary knowledge, enthusiasm to learn statistics / coding / bioinformatics, keenness to read and write.

Acceptable first degree subjects: biology, ecology, evolution, genetics or similar

References

  • Grieshop, K., Ho, E. K., & Kasimatis, K. R. (2024). Dominance reversals: the resolution of genetic conflict and maintenance of genetic variation. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 291(2018), 20232816. (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2816)
  • Di, C. and Lohmueller, K.E. (2024). Revisiting Dominance in Population Genetics. Genome Biology and Evolution, 16(8), p.evae147. (DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae147)
  • Mishra, P., Barrera, T. S., Grieshop, K., & Agrawal, A. F. (2022). Cis-regulatory variation in relation to sex and sexual dimorphism in Drosophila melanogaster. bioRxiv, 2022-09. (DOI: 10.1101/2022.09.20.508724)
  • Grieshop, K. and Arnqvist, G. (2018). Sex-specific dominance reversal of genetic variation for fitness. PLoS biology, 16(12), p.e2006810. (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2006810)
  • Berger, D., Grieshop, K., Lind, M.I., Goenaga, J., Maklakov, A.A. and Arnqvist, G. (2014). Intralocus sexual conflict and environmental stress. Evolution, 68(8), pp.2184-2196. (DOI: 10.1111/evo.12439)

Key Information

  • This studentship has been shortlisted for funding under the UKRI NERC DLA funding scheme and will commence on 1 October 2025. The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 8th January 2025.
  • Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend (£19,237 p.a. for 2024/25) and research funding. A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university. Please note however that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.
  • ARIES postgradute researcher (PGRs) benefit from bespoke graduate training and ARIES provides £2,500 to every student for access to external training, travel and conferences, on top of all Research Costs associated with the project. Excellent applicants from quantitative disciplines with limited experience in environmental sciences may be considered for an additional 3-month stipend to take advanced-level courses.
  • ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in all areas of its operation. We encourage enquiries and applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience, and our recruitment process considers potential with the same weighting as past experience.
  • All ARIES studentships may be undertaken on a part-time or full-time basis. International applicants should check whether there are any conditions of visa or imigration permission that preclude part-time study. All advertised project proposals have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive, and appropriate research and fieldwork environment with respect to protected characteristics. If you have any concerns please contact us.
  • For further information, please contact the supervisor. To apply for this Studentship follow the instructions at the bottom of the page or click the 'apply now' link.
  • ARIES is required by our funders to collect Equality and Diversity Information from all of our applicants. The information you provide will be used solely for monitoring and statistical purposes; it will remain confidential, and will be stored on the UEA sharepoint server. Data will not be shared with those involved in making decisions on the award of Studentships, and will have no influence on the success of your application. It will only be shared outside of this group in an anonymised and aggregated form. You will be ask to complete the form by the University to which you apply.
  • If funded under the BBSRC-NERC DLA scheme, ARIES studentships will be subject to UKRI terms and conditions. Postgraduate Researchers are expected to live within reasonable distance of their host organisation for the duration of their studentship. See https://www.ukri.org/publications/terms-and-conditions-for-training-funding/ for more information

Apply Now

Apply via the  University of East Anglia application portal