Active Research
Landscape Genetics and Microsatellite Isolation of Mexipyrgus churinceanus
A study how coevolutionary interactions with a snail-crushing cichlid has shaped geographic variation in the defensive traits of a freshwater snail in Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico. Microsatellites are a crucial tool in understand factors that shape and control the genetic diversity of the planet. Mexipyrgus is a small aquatic snail that resides in Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico and is part of the predator-prey system that has generated a large amount of interest in coevolutionary studies. Since this is a novel system it is critical for future studies to develop the tools necessary to permit more extensive molecular studies of those organisms involved.
Effects of an Anthropogenic Barrier To Gene Flow in a Semi-Aquatic Turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans On the Mississippi River
Full Abstract | 2007 MRRC Program
Keokuk Lock and Dam 19 is the oldest Lock system on the Mississippi River. Anthropogenic features such as dam systems, roads, and other structures have been shown to create barriers to organisms restricting or prohibiting gene flow and deterimentally affecting genetic diversity for those populations. Previous studies had suggested this result accomplished with allozyme techniques (Lamer et al. 2006). However, one of the disadvantages of using allozyme markers to assess population history is their potential non-neutrality, making it difficult to determine whether observed patterns of diversity are due to the effects of selection or to drift or a combination of both (Hinten et al., 2003). Another disadvantage is that unlike nuclear microsatellites and other classes of hyper-variable markers, allozymes show very low levels of polymorphism and hence do not possess the resolution needed to compare populations with different fragmentation histories. We are hoping to address these concerns using hypervariable microsatellite markers to examine the genetic structure of red-eared slider populations around Keokuk Lock and Dam 19.