Colgan/Wolf/Kokko
Gene regulation and evolution of dormant states in bees
Supervisor: Joseph Colgan
Co-Supervisor: Eva Wolf, Hanna Kokko
Scientific Background
Understanding the ability of natural populations to respond to ongoing and future environmental pressures represents one of the greatest challenges facing modern science. Climatic change has been increasingly attributed to losses in biodiversity, range shifts, as well as alterations to phenology, including the early emergence from dormant states. Despite the importance of temporary periods of dormancy to allow taxa to avoid periods of unfavourable environmental conditions, our understanding of how the expression and regulation of these alternative phenotypes at the molecular-genetic level, as well as how they are impacted by environmental challenges, is limited.
Ongoing work in our group investigates the capacity of essential pollinator species, such as bumblebees and mason bees, to cope and respond to environmental pressures at different biological levels, ranging from the molecular to the population level, allowing for investigating the roles of phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation in the expression and evolution of thermal responses.
Project description
Using a combination of molecular, genomic, and computational techniques, we will investigate the expression and evolution of dormant states in pollinator species, as well as understand how such states are influenced by environmental fluctuations. For this, we will compare transcriptional and epigenetic patterns of dormant and post-dormant bees to understand changes in gene regulation and expression during dormant states. Second, we will examine how such patterns change in response to environmental temperature informed by current climatic models. Lastly, through comparative and population genomics combined with ecological modelling, we will explore how responses at different biological levels evolve.
What you will learn
Our group has strengths in evolutionary genomics, as well as bioinformatics, providing an optimal environment to develop/expand skills related to these topics. For the proposed project, molecular biology, genomic, and computational approaches will be used.
Your qualifications
A master’s degree in a relevant topic (molecular biology, bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, genomics, zoology), an ability and motivation to work with insects (bees), coding ability (shell, R, python) and/or molecular techniques are desirable but not required (training will be provided). Good English skills (written/spoken) and demonstrable ability to work as part of a team, as well as form part of a supportive working environment.
Publications relevant to this project
Larragy SJ, Möllmann JS, Stout JC, Carolan JC, Colgan TJ (2023) Signatures of adaptation, constraints, and potential redundancy in the canonical immune genes of a key pollinator. Genome Biology and Evolution 15(4):evad039. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad039
Möllmann JS, Colgan TJ (2022) Genomic architecture and sexually dimorphic expression underlying immunity in the red mason bee, Osmia bicornis. Insect Mol Biol 31(6):686-700. https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12796
Colgan TJ, Arce AN, Gill RJ, Ramos Rodrigues A, Kanteh A, Duncan EJ, Li L, Chittka L, Wurm Y (2022) Genomic Signatures of Recent Adaptation in a Wild Bumblebee. Mol Biol Evol 39(2):msab366. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab366
Colgan TJ, Finlay S, Brown MJF, Carolan JC (2019) Mating precedes selective immune priming which is maintained throughout bumblebee queen diapause. BMC Genomics 20:959. doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-6314-9