Evolution and Adaption in Sensory Perception

How does sensory perception evolve and adapt? How do sex differences in nervous systems evolve? Using bulk and single cell RNA-seq datasets, along with experimental approaches, our lab has identified extensive gene expression differences in the sensory nervous systems of closely related Drosophila species. We have found that many of these differences also evolve remarkably quick between sexes. We want to identify the regulatory changes that generate these species and sex differences found in the sensory neurons and to understand the behavioural impacts they have. This project will address these questions through the:

• The generation and analysis of “multiomic” data sets for sensory neurons and brains within an evolutionary framework
• Computation and statistical studies of the molecular evolution of regulatory regions
• Comparative behavioural studies
• Generation of transgenic tools (using CRISPR) to study sex differences across species

Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the research and the lab, there is a range of opportunities for shaping the project depending on the student’s particular interests and strengths (i.e. comparative genomics, neurobiology, generation of transgenic tools for new species). Throughout the project, the student will be encouraged to develop their own ideas and hypotheses.