Non-genetic inheritance and local adaptation at University of Liverpool on FindAPhD.com

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Dr S J Plaistow Applications accepted all year round Self-Funded PhD Students Only

About the Project

Human activities are changing our planet at an unprecedented rate. Rapid adaptation can potentially help species to overcome these changes, but we don’t yet understand why some populations adapt rapidly while others do not. Inheritance is an integral part of the evolutionary process. We all know that offspring inherit genes from their parents. But it is now known that parents don’t just pass on genes to their offspring, but also ’non-genetic’ factors that interact with genes to shape offspring development. Theory and lab studies suggest that non-genetic inheritance (NGI) can contribute to variation in phenotype and fitness. But no one yet knows the impact NGI has on real populations in nature. This project will address this knowledge gap by comparing patterns of NGI, and their fitness consequences, in natural populations adapted to different environments.

We will study the water flea, Daphnia pulex, which is clonal and has a short generation time, making it ideal for understanding how genetic and non-genetic factors influence phenotypic variation. In this project you will:

(1) Identify, and sample clones from D. pulex populations with very different habitat characteristics.

(2) Conduct developmental and life-history assays in a common garden environment to test the hypothesis that NGI within populations is less variable than NGI between populations.

(3) Use field-based experimental evolution trials to test the hypothesis that patterns of NGI are locally adapted.

The multifaceted nature of this project will give the successful candidate a broad training in modern biology techniques including field skills, microscopy, image analysis, ’omics, experimental design and high-level statistical analysis. The candidate will join a NERC-funded lab investigating mechanisms underpinning rapid adaptation, and be part of a vibrant ecology and evolution group in Liverpool’s Institute of Integrative Biology where unparalleled facilities for conducting this research are available.

Funding Notes

This is project is available to self-funded students. The PhD will start in October 2017. Applicants should have, or be expecting to receive, at least 2.1 Hons degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.

A fees bursary may be available.

References

Plaistow, S.J., Shirley, C., Collin, H., Cornell, S.J. and Harney, E.D. Offspring provisioning explains clone specific maternal age effects on life history and lifespan in the water flea, Daphnia pulex. The American Naturalist, 186 (3), 376-389

Plaistow, S.J. and Collin, H. Phenotypic integration plasticity in Daphnia magna: an integral facet of GxE interactions. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 27, 1913-1920. (May 2014)

Harney E.H., Van Dooren, T.J.M., Paterson, S & Plaistow, S.J. 2013. How to measure maturation: a comparison of probabilistic methods used to test for genotypic variation and plasticity in the decision to mature. Evolution, 67(2), pp. 525-538

Robinson, M.R. and Beckerman, A.P. 2013. Quantifying multivariate plasticity: genetic variation in resource acquisition drives plasticity in resource allocation to components of life history. Ecology Letters, 16, 281-290.

Where will I study?

University of Liverpool

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Non-genetic inheritance and local adaptation

University of Liverpool Institute of Integrative Biology