Graduate rotation student (Applied Math)
I investigated the dynamics of gene retention in Saccharomyces in the face of frequent recessive mutation and rare sex. Following inbred sex, loss of heterozygosity may be strongly deleterious, but it may also phenotypically reveal cryptic genetic variation at other sites, providing raw material for adaptation. The loss of the gene in question may be restored following a subsequent round of outcrossing.
Publications
- Masel, J., & Lyttle, D. N. (2011). The consequences of rare sexual reproduction by means of selfing in an otherwise clonally reproducing species. Theoretical Population Biology, 80(4), 317-322
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