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W. Owen McMillanAssociate Professor of GeneticsPhD, Biology,
University of Hawaii-Manoa Come visit our lab's Home Page.
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Population Genetics, Evolution, Conservation BiologyResearch in my lab relies on molecular data (DNA sequences, microsatellites, multi-locus DNA fingerprints, and more recently gene expression patterns) to study the architecture of genetic variation in terrestrial and marine taxa in the earliest stages of differentiation. Several key current research programs include: Evolutionary Genomics of Mimicry in Neotropical Butterflies We have an active research and breeding program that addresses the genetic and developmental basis of wing pattern evolution in Heliconius butterflies. In Heliconius, biologists are presented with a rare system in which the links between adaptation, morphological evolution, and development are well defined (TREE 17:125-133). Our work has generally focused on H. erato, a species characterized by remarkable intraspecific diversification into over 20 parapatric color pattern races. The vivid wing patterns of H. erato are adaptations that warn potential predators of the butterflies' distastefulness. Recognizing the extraordinary potential of this species to be a model for understanding the links between development and evolution, NSF recently funded the development of a BAC library for H. erato (Nature 297: 1638-1639). Ongoing research on Heliconius is directed towards a number of specific genomic level questions including. Population History of Speciation and Morphological Differentiation Research in my lab consistently relies on molecular sequence and hypervariable microsatelitte data to infer the population and evolutionary history within and/or among closely related species. These data provide powerful glimpses into the history of a population, species, or group of closely related species that, when combined with ecological and behavioral data, help i) reconstruct important demographic parameters, ii) examine selection on polygenetic traits, and iii) infer the process of speciation and morphological differentiation (Evolution 53: 247-260). Applied Evolutionary Biology We are a large and active research program directed at more applied questions in ecology and evolution. Specific projects are cross-disciplinary in scope, involving collaborations with the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, Oxford University Evolution Group, and the PR-Department of Natural Resources. Current projects range from managing threatened marine resources to studying the forces driving dengue viral evolution in the Caribbean. In addition, we recently founded, with funds from NSF, the Molecular Ecology, Evolution and Genetics Program (MEEG) under the auspices of the newly created Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation. Selected Publications:Velez-Zuazo, X., Ramos, W., van Dam, R. P., Diez, C. E., Serrano, X., Abreu-Grobois, A. and McMillan, W. O. 2007 Dispersal, recruitment and migratory behavior in a hawksbill sea turtle population. Molecular Ecology, accepted. Papanicolaou , A., Gebauer-Jung, S., Blaxter, M. L., McMillan, W. O. and Jiggins, C. D. 2007. ButterflyBase: a platform for Lepidoptera genomics. Nucleic Acids Research, accepted. Reed, R. D., McMillan, W. O. and Nagy, L. M. 2007. Gene expression underlying adaptive variation in Heliconius wing patterns: non-modular regulation of overlapping cinnabar and vermilion patterns. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, accepted. Beldade, P., Papanicolaou, A. and McMillan, W.O. 2007. Butterfly Genomics Eclosing. Heredity (in press). Joron, M., R. Papa, M. Beltrán, J. Mavárez, R. Papa, E. Bermingham, J. Mallet, W. O. McMillan and C. D. Jiggins. (2006) A conserved supergene locus controls color pattern convergence and divergence in Heliconius butterflies. PLoS Biology 4(10): e303. Joron, M., Jiggins, C.D., Papanicolaou, A., and McMillan, W.O. 2006. Heliconius wing patterns: an evo-devo model for understanding phenotypic diversity. Heredity. 97: 157-167. Bull, V., Beltran, M., Jiggins, C.D., McMillan, W.O., Bermingham, E., and Mallet, J. 2006. Polyphyly and gene flow between non-sibling Heliconius species. BMC Biol. 4: 11. Bennett, S.N., Holmes, E.C., Chirivella, M., Rodriguez, D.M., Beltran, M., Vorndam, V., Gubler, D.J., and McMillan, W.O. 2006. Molecular evolution of dengue 2 virus in Puerto Rico: positive selection in the viral envelope accompanies clade reintroduction. J Gen Virol. 87 (Pt 4): 885-893. Kapan, D.D., Flanagan, N.S., Tobler, A., Papa, R., Reed, R.D., Gonzalez, J.A., Restrepo, M.R., Martinez, L., Maldonado, K., Ritschoff, C., Heckel, D.G., and McMillan, W.O. 2006. Localization of Mullerian mimicry genes on a dense linkage map of Heliconius erato. Genetics. 173: 735-757. Papanicolaou, A., Joron, M., McMillan, W.O., Blaxter, M.L., and Jiggins, C.D. 2005. Genomic tools and cDNA derived markers for butterflies. Mol Ecol. 14: 2883-2897. Tobler, A., Kapan, D., Flanagan, N.S., Gonzalez, C., Peterson, E., Jiggins, C.D., Johntson, J.S., Heckel, D.G., and McMillan, W.O. 2005. First-generation linkage map of the warningly colored butterfly Heliconius erato. Heredity 94: 408-417. Jiggins, C.D., Mavarez, J., Beltran, M., McMillan, W.O., Johnston, J.S., and Bermingham, E. 2005. A genetic linkage map of the mimetic butterfly Heliconius melpomene. Genetics 171: 557-570. Flanagan, N.S., Tobler, A., Davison, A., Pybus,O.G., Kapan, D.D. Planas, S., Linares, M., Heckel, D., and McMillan, W.O. 2004. Historical demography of Mullerian mimicry in the neotropical Heliconius butterflies. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 101: 9704-9709. Foster, J.E., Bennett, S.N., Carrington, C.V., Vaughan, H., and McMillan, W.O. 2004. Phylogeography and molecular evolution of dengue 2 in the Caribbean basin, 1981-2000. Virology. 324: 48-59. For more information contact:
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