​Genomic basis of environmental adaptation in natural populations

Understanding how natural selection shapes patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation is one of the central goals of evolutionary biology. One approach is to look within and across populations for repeated genetic changes that are associated with environmental variables. With my advisor Michael Nachman, we are comparing populations of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus - introduced species) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus - native species) along a latitudinal cline. House mice have recently expanded their range across North America, and there is good evidence for evolutionary change over short time scales. In contrast, deer mice serve as a comparative model for evolutionary change over longer time scales as they are endemic to North America. This project provides a unique opportunity for studying the genomic basis underlying environmental adaptation in co-distributed species.

The role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptive evolution

The contributions of phenotypic plasticity to adaptive evolution remains an unresolved problem in evolutionary biology. House mice (Mus musculus domesticus) provide a unique opportunity to investigate the role of plasticity in environmental adaptation as they have broad latitudinal distributions across the Americas. For example, house mice can be found from the tropics to to the arctic, and populations inhabiting these different environments have adapted to different temperature regimes. With my advisor Michael Nachman, we are using wild-derived populations of house mice collected from temperate and tropical environments to understand the contributions of plasticity to latitudinal-related population differences.

Evolution of dormancy

​ Animals inhabiting seasonal environments may undergo dormancy (e.g. hibernation, diapause) to combat unfavorable conditions. The genomic and molecular underpinnings associated with dormancy are still largely unknown. In collaboration with Kate Wilsterman, Caroline Williams, and Peter Sudmant, we are investigating the physiological and genomic characteristics of dormancy across the tree of life. For my master's thesis with Matt Andrews, I investigated the genetic and mechanistic underpinnings associated with metabolic characteristics of mammalian hibernation.  Specifically, we used RNA-seq, proteomics, and mitochondrial assays to dissect the metabolic dynamics of brown adipose tissue in the 13-lined ground squirrel.

Mallory A. Ballinger

Museum of Vertebrate Zoology - University of California, Berkeley
3101 Valley Life Sciences Building
Berkeley, CA  94720-3160

News & Updates

Summer 2019
Had a blast visiting the east coast for a few weeks this summer! Attended the SSE conference in Providence, RI and the ASM conference in Washington, D.C. It was great catching up with friends and hearing some amazing science!
May 2019
Many thanks to IB, the MVZ, and the Philomathia Center for their graduate student support. I have recently been awarded a Wilhem L.F. Marten's Fund, a Junea W. Kelly Fellowship, an IB Summer Research Grant, and a Philomathia Fellowship for the upcoming year. Thank you so much!
​January 2019
Enjoyed sunny and warm Tampa, Florida for the annual SICB meeting!
October 2018
Had a blast collaborating with Katya Mack on our recent Genome Research paper! We identified cis-eQTL underlying clinal adaptation in house mice.
May 2018
I am thrilled to have received a GIAR from the American Society of Mammalogists! This small grant will help fund my dissertation project on environmental adaptation in deer mice and house mice. Thank you, ASM!
March 2018
Very fortunate to have had the opportunity to contribute to JEB's Special Issue on "The Biology of Fat".  Matt Andrews and I wrote a review on brown adipose tissue in mammalian hibernators. And thanks to Kathryn Knight for the nice synopsis of our work!
January 2018
The Nachman lab is in incredibly fortunate to have Mohamed Noor visiting us while on sabbatical. I've had an absolute pleasure hanging out with Mohamed over the past few months, talking science and enjoying Bay Area cuisine. Mohamed and I collaborated on a small project, highlighting a recent article on the role of lethal alleles in natural populations. Check out our Trends in Genetics Spotlight here!
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