Steve Chenoweth

Our lab aims to test fundamental hypotheses in genetics and evolutionary biology. Principally, we are interested the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic change during adaptive evolution. This line of inquiry requires an understanding of both the type of selection acting on traits as they evolve and ultimately the functional polymorphisms available for selection to act upon. We presently use both native and exotic species of Drosophila in our work but also undertake collaborative study in other organisms that represent examples of recurring ecological and evolutionary phenomena. We are equipped to use a broad range of techniques in our investigations including experimental evolution, field-based selection studies, quantitative genetics, molecular population genetics, genomics and advanced quantitative methods in statistics and computational biology. The broad range of techniques available to our group provides students with a unique opportunity to broaden their skill sets as they address fundamental questions. Sex-specific selection and its evolutionary consequences; The evolution of sex-biased gene expression; Quantitative genetics of the vectors of human infectious disease

[2024] The impacts of positive selection on genomic variation in Drosophila serrata: insights from a deep learning approach [2024] Drosophila serrata genome scaffolding and annotation [2024] Misalignment of plastic and evolutionary responses of lifespan to novel carbohydrate diets [2023] Environmental dependence of mutational (co)variances of adaptive traits [2023] Dengue and chikungunya virus loads in the mosquito Aedes aegypti are determined by distinct genetic architectures