Bioinformatic Studies of Mobile DNAs in Vertebrates

44% of the human genome, and similar proportions in other vertebrate species, consists of mobile DNAs or their inactive descendants. These are scattered throughout genomes as a result of their past or present mobility, and many have been characterised as “junk DNA”. These DNAs are capable of spreading through genomes by replication transposition, and their copy numbers can increase to hundreds of thousands or millions, even if they convey no benefits to their hosts. However, while these sequences seem to start their lives as parasitic DNAs, they may subsequently evolve functions that are adaptive for the host. There exist powerful statistical tests, examining sequence conservation, which can identify whether a now-inactive copy of a previously mobile sequence family is now conferring any adaptive benefit on its host.

The project will consist of applying bioinformatics analyses to whole genome information from wild and domesticated species of vertebrates, including variation within- and between-species, to establish whether interspersed repetitive sequences make a major contribution to adaptation and adaptive change.