> Research Interests & Currents Projects
 Evolution and
genetics of self/nonself recognition systems
Virtually all plants, fungi, and animals have self-nonself
recognition systems that mediate the nature and outcomes of reproductive
and somatic interactions between conspecifics. These allorecognition
systems typically exhibit exceptional specificity, and presumably
corresponding high levels of genetic polymorphism (i.e., allotypic
diversity), sometimes exceeding by an order of magnitude levels
of variation found at almost all other polymorphic loci.
A major theme of my research over the last decade concerns identification
of the selective forces, including the control of fusion and inbreeding,
that maintain this variation. Contrary to findings in some vertebrates,
our recent work on the sea squirt Botryllus schlosseri and the hydroid
Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus, suggests that evolution of extraordinary
allorecognition polymorphism can occur in the absence of any detectable
effect on the mating system. Instead, the regulation of fusion and
aggression appear to predominate.
|
