Department of Entomology

Title: “Sex, sociality, and supergenes”

Abstract: Supergenes, sets of tightly linked functional mutations affecting a discrete trait, have repeatedly and convergently evolved in association with certain traits. Sex chromosomes are the best-studied type of supergene, but what principles of sex chromosome evolution apply to other types of supergene? Here, I present two ongoing projects. First, I examine how a recently evolved sex chromosome contributes to speciation in European tree frogs, by quantifying gene flow across two hybrid zones at thousands of loci. Second, I aim to reconstruct the evolutionary history of a supergene that controls social organization in the Alpine silver ant. Does the same supergene operate in related species, and has it expanded over time?