Nicholas Bushroe,  

Sponsor or Client: 

Title:

Diversifying Selection in Squamate Hox Genes

Abstract:

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences that comprise a significant portion of most known animal and plant genomes (Boissinot et al., 2019). TE movement drives mutations in host genomes, which in turn may drive evolution and the development of new traits within a lineage (Boissinot et al., 2019). Historically, TEs have primarily been studied in mammals, despite reptile genomes displaying richer TE diversity. In squamates, TEs have accumulated near Hox gene loci at unusually high rates (Di-Poï et al., 2010). Hox genes are vital factors in determining developmental patterning along the anterior-posterior axis in animals. Mutations in these regions of the genome can influence the evolution of morphological traits such as body length, leg length, or leglessness (Di-Poï et al., 2010). Understanding the relationship between Hox genes, TEs, and trait development at a species level would help elucidate how TE-Hox dynamics drive squamate evolution. A correlation between TE activity near Hox genes and diversity in Hox-associated morphological traits across multiple squamate lineages may suggest positive selection for TEs near Hox loci.