Project description

The role of epigenomic variation in facilitating responses to environmental change is under debate. Epigenetic variants can rapidly integrate environmental information into genomes to extend phenotypic performance, however, long-term consequences for populations depend on the persistence of epigenetic inheritance. Species' reproductive mode (e.g. sexual vs asexual, oviparity vs viviparity) influences the adaptive potential of epigenetic inheritance (Anastasiadi et al. 2021). However, despite support for its importance, critical knowledge gaps exist about how the reproductive mode affects the inheritance of environmentally induced epigenomic responses.

The project seeks to test how the reproductive mode modulates inherited epigenomic variation in response to the environment, and seeks to measure the extent of genetic assimilation over generational time. Our exemplar model is the brine shrimp Artemia, where both sexual and asexual reproduction co-exist. The PhD student will use multigenerational, replicated experiments, integrated with state-of-the-art sequencing, to compare between reproductive modes: (1) the extent of epigenomic inheritance, (2) fitness impacts due to inheritance in changing environments, and (3) frequency of genetic assimilation of epigenomic variants. Elucidating how the reproductive mode affects epigenomic inheritance will shed light on one of the most fundamental mechanisms species are equipped with to respond to environmental changes.