Abraham E. Tucker
Postdoctoral Research Associate
abetucke(at)indiana.edu
(812) 856-0115
Ph.D., Genetics, University of New Hampshire, 2009
B.S., Biology, University of Southern Maine, 2003
Research
I joined the Lynch Lab to continue research on the Daphnia genome and use population genomic approaches to study a number of evolutionary questions:
1. Genomic consequences of obligate asexuality
2. The immediate forces determining patterns and distribution of polymorphism across naturally isolated genomes
3. Ecologically relevant variation
4. Origin and evolution of spliceosomal introns
5. Role of gene duplication in adaptation
Although I specifically work with the Daphnia pulex genome, I am broadly interested in evolutionary biology, especially evolutionary genomics. The Daphnia system has a long history as an ecological and evolutionary model, and has recently been developed for genomic research. A better understanding of the Daphnia genome is the best opportunity available for biologists to reconcile genetic and ecological perspectives of evolution. As it turns out, the Daphnia genome is rife with interesting phenomena such as high rates of gene duplication, recent intron gains, and natural variation at many scales. As we enter the age of population and individual genomics, I am interested in developing our understanding of genome evolution in natural populations.