Aaron Schrey's Lab
  • Home
  • Research
  • People
  • Publications
  • Teaching
  • Contact

Research Interests

Picture
Picture
Ecological Epigenetics

I study the ecological and evolutionary importance of epigenetic variation. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression and function without alteration to DNA sequence. Some of these modifications have been shown to contribute to phenotypic variation in diverse taxa. Recent studies have detected changes in methylation patterns among populations from different environments and have demonstrated that some epigenetic characters are stably transmitted across generations. Thus, some epigenetic factors likely impact subsequent generations. As such, epigenetic variation may be important to ecology and evolution, and understanding its mechanistic basis will provide insights into individual and population processes at both ecological and evolutionary time scales.

Epigenetics and Organism-Environment Interaction

Epigenetic mechanisms also may be an important component of organism-environment interactions. Epigenetic modification of gene expression may enable organisms to adjust their phenotypes to quickly respond to a changing environment. Epigenetic modifications may vary in response to environmental stressors and even among individuals and populations. Further, molecular epigenetic modifications are active in the processes underlying the phenotypic plasticity of plants in response to different environments. Recent studies have indicated that the environment can induce variation in DNA methylation and that DNA methylation may provide an ecologically important source of variation among individuals.

Molecular Ecology and Population Genetics

I study the evolutionary and ecological factors that shape epigenomic and genomic variation among populations. I am particularly interested in 1) invasive species and species with active range expansions, 2) disturbed habitats and habitats with abrupt variation, and 3) conservation and management relevant questions. These scenarios potentially disrupt populations and precipitate a epigenetic or genetic response, which allows comparisons to be drawn among species with different autecologies to determine the biotic and abiotic factors underlying the observed differences.

Conservation and Management Genetics


I use molecular markers to address applied research questions in the conservation and management of natural resources. I have worked on a variety of taxa including fish, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and insects. Often these projects can address basic molecular ecology questions while being focused on species in need of conservation or of economic importance.

Projects

House Sparrow Genetics - NSF Funded Project IMAGINE:Collaborative Research: Epigenetics and Range Expansion in the House Sparrow
            Epigenomic variation of  house sparrows 
            Next-Gen Sequencing of house sparrows
            TLR-4 exon variation among introduced house sparrows
            Bisulfite sequencing of promoters to link DNA methylation to changes in gene expression
            Patterns of range expansion in house sparrows
 
Genetic and Epignetic analyses of the Bluetail Mole Skink - Funded Project Subcontract:Analysis for Status & Distribution of Florida Sand Skinks, Bluetail Mole Skinks & other at-Risk Species on Conservation Lands in Central Florida
​
Effect of Fire on Florida Scrub Herpetofauna
            Florida Sand Skink
            Florida Scrub Lizard
            Six-lined Racerunner
          


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.