Michael Nachman
Department of Biology
UC Berkeley

The Genomic Basis of Environmental Adaptation in House Mice

A major goal in biology is to understand the genetic details of how organisms adapt to novel environments. I will discuss recent studies on the genetic basis of environmental adaptation in mice which have recently colonized North and South America from Europe. Through a combination of field and laboratory studies, we have begun to identify genes that underlie complex traits, including those that are adaptive in different environments. I will also discuss the role of phenotypic plasticity is facilitating the colonization of new environments.