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Studying the genetic basis of fitness differences in the wild is challenging, which is why I use butterflies as a model system. My focal butterfly species are large enough to allow individual marking and recapture, can be quickly and densely reared in captivity, and have sufficient populations densities for intensive sampling in the wild. Additionally, molecular marker association studies of fitness in the wild have been used in several different species with great success. 454 sequencing is providing non-model species rapid access to genomic resources for SNP association study, QTL analyses, and global gene expression (e.g. in less than two years we were able to sequence approximately 70% of the Glanville fritillary butterfly’s transcriptome, identify 1000’s of SNPs and 100’s of microsatellites, and design a high quality microarray (Vera et al. 2008)).
While establishing causal connections between polymorphism and fitness is challenging, especially given the nascent state of transgenics and RNAi in butterflies, my research integrates across disciplines to generate insightful null hypotheses for exploring causal connections in ecological model systems. I focus my research in the Family Nymphalidae, as this contains the largest concentration of butterfly research groups using molecular tools. Currently, I primarily work with the Glanville fritillary butterfly, which is the focus of pioneering, long term theoretical and empirical studies on life history evolution and metapopulation dynamics in the wild. In sum, I have chosen to focus my research in a model ecological system in which modern genomics tools can be rapidly developed, as this allows for molecular insights into differential performance and fitness to be directly understood in their proper ecological and evolutionary context.
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