Elmer Lab

 Welcome to new PhD student Joris Philip who joins us studying parallel evolution and molecular mechanisms of divergence in Arctic charr ecotypes, co-supervised with Arne Jacobs. Joris is funded by a Fisheries Society of the British Isles studentship

 In a new paper that both develops a method and evaluates it, John Smout publishes on primary cell culture from lizard oviduct or uterus tissue Published in Experimental Cell Research   This was a collaboration between our lab and the cell culture expertise of Mark McLaughlin at the Vet School. It is part of John's PhD work, which was funded from the University of Glasgow MVLS-DTP Abstract Reproduction by egg-laying (oviparity) or live-bearing (viviparity) is a genetically determined trait fundamental to the biology of amniotes. Squamates are an emerging model for the genetics of reproductive mode yet lack cell culture models valuable for exploring molecular mechanisms. Here, we report a novel primary culture model for reproductive biology: cell cultures derived from the oviduct tissues (infundibulum, uterus and vagina) of oviparous and viviparous common lizards (Lacertidae: Zootoca vivipara) . We maintained and expanded these cultures for over 100 days, including repeated subcultu

A new paper from Hans Recknagel (during his PhD/postdoc) and Robbie Hussain (while an intern with us) uses the common lizard oviparous - viviparous hybrid zone as an experimental system to measure the cost of running. Published in  Ecology and Evolution  open access  Abstract  Pregnancy is a physiological cost of reproduction for animals that rely on fleeing to avoid predators. Costs of reproduction are predicted to differ between alternative reproductive strategies or modes, such as egg-laying (oviparity) or live-bearing (viviparity). However, disentangling the factors that comprise this cost and how it differs for oviparous or viviparous females is challenging due to myriad environmental, biological, and evolutionary confounds. Here, we tested the hypothesis that costs of pregnancy differ between oviparous and viviparous common lizards (Zootoca vivipara). We predicted that the degree of locomotor impairment during pregnancy and therefore the cost of reproduction would be higher in vi

 Congrats to Sam Fenton and John Smout for successfully passing their vivas spring 2024!  And some amazing PhD cakes (made by friends and lab mates) to celebrate

Published today as free open access in Molecular Ecology :  Genomic underpinnings of head and body shape in Arctic charr ecomorph pairs Sam Fenton, Arne Jacobs, Colin Bean, Colin Adams & Kathryn Elmer The appearance of repeated phenotypes across replicates in similar environments have been described as examples of parallel evolution. However, the genomic bases of these similar phenotypes is rarely elucidated and so whether the same genomic pathways are used to achieve these similar phenotypes across replicates is rarely known. Here we used the repeated divergence of benthivorous-planktivorous ecomorph pairs of Arctic charr to investigate the genomic underpinnings of head and body shape morphology across replicates. We found that only a small number of associated SNPs for each phenotype were shared across all four ecomorph pairs we investigated with selection on associated SNPs varying considerably across replicates. Overall, these results suggest that the genomic underpinnings of t

 Just out free and open access in Molecular Ecology , a paper led by Hans and Henrique to test the genetic basis of different ventral colourations and patterns in common lizards. Using samples from the hybrid zone where we have been studying reproductive mode, Henrique studied the gene expression (Honours thesis project) and Hans the GWAS and the colour phenotyping (NERC Postdoc). Now a bunch of new candidate genes that can be followed up for reptiles! Genetic basis and expression of ventral colour in polymorphic common lizards Hans Recknagel, Henrique G. Leitão, Kathryn R. Elmer Abstract Colour is an important visual cue that can correlate with sex, behaviour, life history or ecological strategies, and has evolved divergently and convergently across animal lineages. Its genetic basis in non-model organisms is rarely known, but such information is vital for determining the drivers and mechanisms of colour evolution. Leveraging genetic admixture in a rare contact zone between oviparous