Darin R. Rokyta

I am an evolutionary biologist studying the genetics of adaptation across a diverse array of experimental systems. Throughout my career, I have endeavored to integrate fine-scale molecular and genetic details into our understanding of the biases and patterns of evolution. My specific interests lie in understanding why adapting populations take the evolutionary trajectories they do and why or whether adaptation is repeatable or predictable. This pursuit began by developing predictive evolutionary theory and testing these predictions using experimental evolution in bacteriophages. This simple experimental system revealed the importance of genetics in determining the outcomes of adaptive evolution, which propelled me toward similar investigations in more complex systems. To this end, I developed animal venoms as model systems for studying the genetics of adaptation. My work in this area has involved the study of the evolution of venoms of snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and spiders. The evolution of venoms, however, cannot truly be understood without parallel investigation of how those venoms influence the evolution of the animals into which they are injected. My research group therefore also studies the genetics and molecular mechanisms of venom resistance in prey species.

Nachtigall PG, Durham AM, Rokyta DR, Junqueira-de-Azevedo ILM. In press. ToxCodAn-Genome: an automated pipeline for toxin-gene annotation in genome assembly of venomous lineages. <em>GigaScience</em>.<br /><br />Nystrom GS, Ellsworth SA, Ward MJ, Rokyta DR. 2023. Varying modes of selection among toxin families in the venoms of the Giant Desert Hairy Scorpions (<em>Hadrurus</em>). Journal of Molecular Evolution 91:935-962. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-023-10148-7">https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-023-10148-7</a><br /><br />Lane AN, Nash PD, Ellsworth SA, Nystrom GS, Rokyta DR. 2023. The arylsulfatase- and phospholipase-rich venom of the plutoniumid centipede <em>Theatops posticus</em>. <em>Toxicon</em> 233:107231. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107231">https://doi.