A two years post doctoral position will open in our lab next fall on the phenotypic and genetic evolution of *Drosophila suzukii* throughout its recent worldwide invasion. The project will include the phenotyping of various traits (and likely based on GM), in connection with genetic (molecular and quantitative) and genomic data. Possible lines of research include the role of phenotypic plasticity in the success of the invasion or the evolution of quantitative genetic architecture (G matrices), but the project is open to further elaboration.
Inquiries and applications must be sent to Vincent Debat (de...@mnhn.fr) Starting date is flexible but should be prior to December 2017. Review of applications starts immediately and will continue until position is filled. The Project Although positioned within the framework of the ANR funded grant (see below), the selected candidate will have the opportunity to ellaborate his/her own research project. The project is included in a larger collaborative work on *D. suzukii* invasion, involving three labs: Paris MNHN (part led by Vincent Debat), LBBE (Lyon, part led by Patricia Gibert) and CBGP (Montpellier, part led by Arnaud Estoup). The Lab The recruited postdoc will be based in Paris Museum of Natural History (MNHN) and will work in close collaboration with Vincent Debat ( http://www.evomorpho.com/) in the team Evolution et Developpement des variation phénotypiques ( http://isyeb.mnhn.fr/annuaire-et-pages-personnelles/pages-personnelles/Nouvelle-traduction-Violaine?lang=en). The lab research focus on the evolution of phenotypes and their variation, using various (insect) models – including butterflies and flies, and a combination of morphometric and molecular approaches. The Salary Net salary will me circa 2300 euros/month. Abstract of the ANR funded project The number of worldwide problems related to invasive species, which are largely due to human activities (development of international trade and intercontinental transportation), has strongly increased in the last decades. Invasive species are generally considered as having a negative effect both on economy (crop damage and health problems) and environment (loss of biodiversity). Managing and controlling invasive species requires an understanding of the ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie invasions. On a more academic side, biological invasions represent “natural experiments” for evolutionary biologists and are thus ideal to study the genetic bases of adaptation. In this project, we will investigate the evolutionary processes at play during a biological invasion with a particular focus on the mechanisms of adaptation. We will also infer the evolutionary potential in this species, so as to make short-term and longer-term predictions with respect to adaptation. This project will be carried on an Asian drosophila species (Drosophila suzukii, aka the Spotted Wing Drosophila ) that has recently invaded both Europe and North America. Unlike most Drosophilids D. suzukii uses a sclerotized ovipositor to lay eggs in unripe fruits causing dramatic losses to the fruit industry, with a yearly cost estimate exceeding one billion euros worldwide. The rapid dissemination of D. suzukii in North America and Europe demonstrates its remarkable ability to adapt or acclimate to new environments. We propose to: (1) quantify phenotypic variation among and within populations, using quantitative genetics and reaction norms; (2) investigate the associated molecular variation using genomics and transcriptomics approaches; (3) combine phenotypic and molecular approaches to better investigate the traits associated with the invasion success, study the relative importance of natural selection and genetic drift on phenotypic differentiation between native and invasive populations, and to analyze the role of transposable elements in adaptation; (4) investigate how phenotypic plasticity, micro-evolution and symbionts contribute to the capacity of D. suzukii to feed on many different crop species and therefore switch hosts within a year. The strength of this project lies in several points: i) the complementarity of the approaches (molecular and phenotypic), ii) the skills of the partners on both the methods/technics (including the development of new inferential methods of general interest for the statistical analysis of populational pangenomics data) as well as the concepts that will be used, iii) the good knowledge of the biological model that has been the subject of several publications of the partners, iv) our collection of population samples from all around the world that has allowed to obtain valuable and original results on the routes of invasion of this species, v) an existing collaborative network with various socio-economic partners that will allow a rapid and efficient transfer of knowledge. -- MORPHMET may be accessed via its webpage at http://www.morphometrics.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MORPHMET" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to morphmet+unsubscr...@morphometrics.org.
