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Schneider, Christopher

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Schneider

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Christopher

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Schneider, Christopher

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2011 - 20123

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Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.ad03cdb7-4488-458b-8dd2-465aab881896

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Unraveling the thread of nature’s tapestry: the genetics of diversity and convergence in animal pigmentation
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012) Kronforst, Marcus; Barsh, Gregory S.; Kopp, Artyom; Mallet, James; Monteiro, Antónia; Mullen, Sean P.; Protas, Meredith; Rosenblum, Erica B.; Schneider, Christopher; Hoekstra, Hopi
    Animals display incredibly diverse color patterns yet little is known about the underlying genetic basis of these phenotypes. However, emerging results are reshaping our view of how the process of phenotypic evolution occurs. Here, we outline recent research from three particularly active areas of investigation: melanin pigmentation in Drosophila, wing patterning in butterflies, and pigment variation in lizards. For each system, we highlight (i) the function and evolution of color variation, (ii) various approaches that have been used to explore the genetic basis of pigment variation, and (iii) conclusions regarding the genetic basis of convergent evolution which have emerged from comparative analyses. Results from these studies indicate that natural variation in pigmentation is a particularly powerful tool to examine the molecular basis of evolution, especially with regard to convergent or parallel evolution. Comparison of these systems also reveals that the molecular basis of convergent evolution is heterogeneous, sometimes involving conserved mechanisms and sometimes not. In the near future, additional work in other emerging systems will substantially expand the scope of available comparisons.
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    The genome of the green anole lizard and a comparative analysis with birds and mammals
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2011) Alföldi, Jessica; Di Palma, Federica; Grabherr, Manfred; Williams, Christina; Kong, Lesheng; Mauceli, Evan; Russell, Pamela; Lowe, Craig B.; Glor, Richard E.; Jaffe, Jacob D.; Ray, David A.; Boissinot, Stephane; Shedlock, Andrew M.; Botka, Christopher; Castoe, Todd A.; Colbourne, John K.; Fujita, Matthew; Moreno, Ricardo Godinez; ten Hallers, Boudewijn F.; Haussler, David; Heger, Andreas; Heiman, David; Janes, Daniel E.; Johnson, Jeremy; de Jong, Pieter J.; Koriabine, Maxim Y.; Lara, Marcia; Novick, Peter A.; Organ, Chris L.; Peach, Sally E.; Poe, Steven; Pollock, David D.; de Queiroz, Kevin; Sanger, Thomas; Searle, Steve; Smith, Jeremy D.; Smith, Zachary; Swofford, Ross; Turner-Maier, Jason; Wade, Juli; Young, Sarah; Zadissa, Amonida; Edwards, Scott; Glenn, Travis C.; Schneider, Christopher; Losos, Jonathan; Lander, Eric; Breen, Matthew; Ponting, Chris P.; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin
    The evolution of the amniotic egg was one of the great evolutionary innovations in the history of life, freeing vertebrates from an obligatory connection to water and thus permitting the conquest of terrestrial environments. Among amniotes, genome sequences are available for mammals and birds, but not for non-avian reptiles. Here we report the genome sequence of the North American green anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis .We find that A. carolinensis microchromosomes are highly syntenic with chicken microchromosomes, yet do not exhibit the high GC and low repeat content that are characteristic of avian microchromosomes. Also, A. carolinensis mobile elements are very young and diverse—more so than in any other sequenced amniote genome. The GC content of this lizard genome is also unusual in its homogeneity, unlike the regionally variable GC content found in mammals and birds. We describe and assign sequence to the previously unknown A. carolinensis X chromosome. Comparative gene analysis shows that amniote egg proteins have evolved significantly more rapidly than other proteins. An anole phylogeny resolves basal branches to illuminate the history of their repeated adaptive radiations.
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    Developing A Community-based Genetic Nomenclature for Anole Lizards
    (BioMed Central, 2011) Kusumi, Kenro; Kulathinal, Rob J.; Abzhanov, Arkhat; Boissinot, Stephane; Crawford, Nicholas; Faircloth, Brant C.; Glenn, Travis C.; Janes, Daniel E.; Losos, Jonathan; Menke, Douglas B.; Poe, Steven; Sanger, Thomas; Schneider, Christopher; Stapley, Jessica; Wade, Juli; Wilson-Rawls, Jeanne
    Background: Comparative studies of amniotes have been hindered by a dearth of reptilian molecular sequences. With the genomic assembly of the green anole, Anolis carolinensis available, non-avian reptilian genes can now be compared to mammalian, avian, and amphibian homologs. Furthermore, with more than 350 extant species in the genus Anolis, anoles are an unparalleled example of tetrapod genetic diversity and divergence. As an important ecological, genetic and now genomic reference, it is imperative to develop a standardized Anolis gene nomenclature alongside associated vocabularies and other useful metrics. Results: Here we report the formation of the Anolis Gene Nomenclature Committee (AGNC) and propose a standardized evolutionary characterization code that will help researchers to define gene orthology and paralogy with tetrapod homologs, provide a system for naming novel genes in Anolis and other reptiles, furnish abbreviations to facilitate comparative studies among the Anolis species and related iguanid squamates, and classify the geographical origins of Anolis subpopulations. Conclusions: This report has been generated in close consultation with members of the Anolis and genomic research communities, and using public database resources including NCBI and Ensembl. Updates will continue to be regularly posted to new research community websites such as lizardbase. We anticipate that this standardized gene nomenclature will facilitate the accessibility of reptilian sequences for comparative studies among tetrapods and will further serve as a template for other communities in their sequencing and annotation initiatives.