DaveLunt.net - Dr Dave Lunt
The research site of Dr Dave Lunt
Postdoc- molecular analysis of parasitoid networks
A 2-year postdoc is available co-supervised by myself and Dr Darren Evans. This project will be to use modern DNA techniques to investigate agricultural food webs, focussing especially on the interaction of parasitoid wasps with aphids and leaf miners. We are looking for someone who has proven ability in a molecular lab, with lots of experience [...]
The Lunt Lab
I am an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Hull, UK. My lab uses phylogenetic and bioinformatic approaches to better understand genomes, evolutionary processes, and biodiversity.
Comparative Genomics
A main interest of my lab is in the processes that determine genome content, structure and change. To what extent do the primary forces of evolution (recombination, effective population size, mutation and natural selection) cause differences in genome content between different taxa and lineages of life. I explore these topics by comparative phylogenetic analysis of [...]
DNA sequence analysis
Most of my research projects involve evolutionary analysis of DNA sequence data, from phylogenetics to comparative genomics. Although phylogenetic approaches are widespread in many areas of biology they are largely underused for very large-scale sequence datasets and the analysis of genome-scale data.
Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics
Much of my research takes a phylogenetic approach to biological questions. I am especially interested in very large scale analyses and tools to automate the path from sequences to annotated trees. The image is Darwin’s first evolutionary tree from his 1837 notebook.
Parasitoids, DNA barcoding, and food webs
UPDATE Dec 2011: Postdoc available- see Research Openings. We are applying sensitive DNA barcoding approaches to understand host parasitoid interactions in agricultural systems. We are now able to screen the host species of parasitoid wasps (e.g. aphids) for the presence of parasitoid DNA using rapid PCR techniques. These studies allow a different way to understand [...]
Evolutionary comparative genomics
The enormous quantities of genomic data now available permit us to powerfully test hypothese of molecular evolution. Perhaps because of the amount of data available comparative analysis of whole genomes is also challenging.We have developed a range of bioinformatic pipelines to facilitate our studies and are taking comparative phylogenetic approach to understanding genome content [...]
Genomics and asexual reproduction in nematodes
Root Knot Nematodes of the genus Meloidogyne are some of the world’s most important crop pathogens. The genus contains a wide range of reproductive modes, with repeated transitions between some reproductive modes. This raises interesting possibilities to investigate the genomic consequences of the loss of meiotic recombination. I recently showed using DNA sequencing that several [...]
Gene copy number variation in adaptive radiations
We are studying gene copy number variation (CNV) in adaptive radiations of cichlids. A fundamental question in biology is what type of genomic changes underlie local adaptation and species radiations. Cichlid fish radiations in the African Great Lakes show extraordinary levels of speciation and ecological diversification compared to their close riverine relatives. Despite a [...]
Publications
- Comparative analysis of teleost genome sequences reveals an ancient intron size expansion in the zebrafish lineage
- Latitudinal variations in the physiology of marine gammarid amphipods
- Repeated colonization and hybridization in Lake Malawi cichlids
- Low endemism, continued deep-shallow interchanges, and evidence for cosmopolitan distributions in free-living marine nematodes (order Enoplida)
- Moving towards a complete molecular framework of the Nematoda: a focus on the Enoplida and early-branching clades
- Probing marine Gammarus (Amphipoda) taxonomy with DNA barcodes
- Copious copies keep out the cold (Adaptive genomic changes in Antarctic fish)
- Linking functional molecular variation with environmental gradients: Myosin gene diversity in a crustacean broadly distributed across variable thermal environments
- Genetic tests of ancient asexuality in Root Knot Nematodes reveal recent hybrid origins
- Molecular phylogeny supports division of the ‘cosmopolitan’ taxon Celleporella (Bryozoa; Cheilostomata) into four major clades
FriendFeed
- Dienekes' Anthropology Blog: Marital distance and height of children
- PLoS Biology: Darwin's Theory of Descent with Modification, versus the Biblical Tree of Life
- Denim and Tweed: In which sloppy scientific reasoning inspires weak attempts at humor
- Young Darwin’s Marginalia Shows Evolution of His Theory | Wired Science | Wired.com
- DNACLUST: accurate and efficient clustering of phylogenetic marker genes
EvoPhylo
- KCite plugin for WordPress blog referencing
- How many species are there really?
- Why can’t Nature just copy and paste?
- Genomics and ethics
- Calculating intron density
- Bio-Linux in a VirtualBox
- Dr Bill Jordan
- The Eighth Day of Creation and the weight of knowledge
- Manuscript writing with Google Docs
- Exam answer quotes
Shared science: GReader
- EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION OF THE CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS SEX DETERMINATION PATHWAY
- Wanted - papers on the origin of meiosis and diploidy
- World's best introduction to sed
- Lab Times Screws Up the Discussion of Junk DNA
- Experimental design and statistical rigor in phylogenomics of horizontal and endosymbiotic gene transfer.
- Molecular evolution under increasing transposable element burden in Drosophila: A speed limit on the evolutionary arms race
- Effects of Inversions on Within- and Between-Species Recombination and Divergence
- Assessing the Value of DNA Barcodes for Molecular Phylogenetics: Effect of Increased Taxon Sampling in Lepidoptera