Evolution in action: using museum DNA to understand disease resistance in island birds (RICHARDSONUBIO19ARIES) [CASE project with IPNA-CSIC]

Many natural populations are facing a “double threat” of reduced genetic diversity and new pathogen challenges. Therefore, understanding how hosts adapt to pathogens in small and fragmented populations has important ramifications for conservation, epidemiology and evolution. However, we still lack fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that enable natural populations to respond and adapt to changing pathogen pressures. Next-generation sequencing methods combined with temporal sampling of wild populations now make it possible to undertake an exciting, powerful and timely investigation of these questions.

Methods
You will join a dynamic research programme assessing adaptation within island populations of Berthelot’s pipit, and have full access to large-scale genetic, ecological and pathogen data. You will use museum specimens (1820s), alongside previously collected samples (2006) and fieldwork in Macaronesia (2020), to quantify spatio-temporal immunogenomic variation among divergent populations known to differ in pathogen load. Genomes from contemporary samples will allow you to identify loci that show high or divergent variation across populations, and sequence capture will then be used to screen these loci across samples spanning 200 years. You will then use population genetic modelling to investigate the evolutionary forces driving immunogenomic variation over space and time.
Specific questions can be developed and prioritized according to your own interests but the work revolves around the following areas: 1. Identifying spatially and temporally divergent loci between populations 2. Investigating the role of mutational mechanisms in enabling change at divergent loci 3. Assessing the importance of pathogen-mediated selection and genetic drift in genetic change in small populations 4. Testing the role of different selection mechanisms in maintaining immunogenetic variation.

Training
You will join a thriving, world class research group at UEA, spend at least three months at IPNA, (the case partner in Tenerife) and collaborate with the Natural History Museum, London.

You will gain:
• Molecular laboratory, bioinformatics and data analysis skills.
• Ecological fieldwork experience
• Understanding of evolutionary biology and conservation genetics
• Training in critical thinking, scientific writing and the public communication of science
• Extensive training to increase generic scientific skills and enhance employability.

Person specification
Degree in biology/zoology/related subject - Field, molecular and/or analytical skills preferred.

Start Date: October 2019
Mode of Study: Full-time or Part-time
Studentship length: 3.5 years
Minimum entry requirement: UK 2:1