EAPSI: Finding Evolutionary Links and Genes in Adaptive Radiations of Gobies by Targeted Gene Capture

Johnson Kendall E, Corpus Christi TX

Investigators

Abstract

Gobies comprise a very large, complex group of fishes found in nearly all aquatic ecosystems. Species in this group can serve as models for ecological and evolutionary specializations that have allowed them to radiate into many different habitats. The relationships of gobies will be examined using a new genetic technique that will also reveal the genes that enable adaptations of these species to their environments. Additionally, it will advance understanding of how organisms can change over time and radiate to fill new roles in nature. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Chenhong Li, who developed the original technique, at his laboratory in Shanghai Ocean University. Dr. Li is a leading researcher in systematics who has developed many genetic and statistical tools for the field. His laboratory has access to all equipment and technology needed for gene-capture in this project. This project will investigate the deep phylogeny of gobies within the Gobiidae using a new gene-capture method to identify signals of directional selection in protein-coding genes across a broad suite of taxa. The ability to combine the identification of loci under selection with the resolution of difficult relationships via gene capture offers unprecedented opportunity to increase the scientific community?s understanding of adaptive radiations and speciation in general. The research funded by this award will accomplish this by creating a high-resolution phylogeny of the Gobiidae using a large number of protein-coding markers obtained by target-enrichment gene capture coupled with broad taxon sampling. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan.