My research project for my dissertation takes advantage of molecular genetic approaches to examine questions in ecology and evolution. My primary interests include the factors that affect the balance between local adaptation and the rate of interpopulation gene flow and the molecular mechanisms involved in responses to abiotic stressors in the environment. I investigate these questions regarding local adaptation in the sea using the intertidal marine snail Chlorostoma funebralis.
The first chapter of my dissertation used phenotypic assays to demonstrate that despite the fact that C. funebralis has a planktonic larval stage, southern California populations have a higher thermal tolerance than northern California populations. To investigate the role of gene regulation on this ecological adaptation of C. funebralis, I employed a next-generation RNA-sequencing approach. The data suggest that both up-regulation and frontloading of genes may be employed in evolutionary adaptation to thermal environments; moreover, the data also suggest populations differ with regard to which mechanisms have evolved for specific sets of genes.
Future work will use ddRAD-sequencing to investigate latitudinal population structure and to identify polymorphisms between northern and southern populations that may represent loci under selection for different thermal regimes along the California coast. Overall, my work not only provides insight into fundamental questions in ecological genomics, but it also enhances our understanding of the potential impact of global climate change on marine invertebrates.
Lani's website
The first chapter of my dissertation used phenotypic assays to demonstrate that despite the fact that C. funebralis has a planktonic larval stage, southern California populations have a higher thermal tolerance than northern California populations. To investigate the role of gene regulation on this ecological adaptation of C. funebralis, I employed a next-generation RNA-sequencing approach. The data suggest that both up-regulation and frontloading of genes may be employed in evolutionary adaptation to thermal environments; moreover, the data also suggest populations differ with regard to which mechanisms have evolved for specific sets of genes.
Future work will use ddRAD-sequencing to investigate latitudinal population structure and to identify polymorphisms between northern and southern populations that may represent loci under selection for different thermal regimes along the California coast. Overall, my work not only provides insight into fundamental questions in ecological genomics, but it also enhances our understanding of the potential impact of global climate change on marine invertebrates.
Lani's website
