A highly integrative approach to study clinal variation in South American D. melanogaster populations

• Grant number: 23/02166-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Cogni
• Grantee: André Coppe Pimentel
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06874-9 - Ecological genomics of insects' phase 2: climate adaptations and evolution of ecological interactions, AP.JP2
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/04639-3 - Does the microbiota affect Drosophila melanogaster nutrient storage in a clinal pattern?, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

This project main goal is to use a highly integrative approach to study clinal variation in South American D. melanogaster populations, including studies of clinal variation at the genomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic levels, as well as the influence of phenotypic plasticity, the endosymbiont Wolbachia and the gut microbiota on climate adaptation. The postdoc will coordinate a team of associated researchers, technicians, and students. First, we will study patterns of clinal variation for the entire genome by generating NGS pool-seq data for each population. Second, we will perform transcriptomic studies to investigate clinal variation in gene expression. Third, we will perform a series of laboratory experiments to investigate clinal patterns of phenotypic variation and test the influence of phenotypic plasticity, the endosymbiont Wolbachia and the gut microbiota on climate adaptation.