
Variation: development and selection
Patrícia Beldade
Our Eco-Evo-Devo research combines concepts and approaches from different disciplines (notably, evolutionary and developmental biology, as well as ecology) to explore the mechanisms that shape phenotypic variation and adaptation.
Inter-individual variation is the raw material for natural selection, and a universal property of biological systems.
Understanding the mechanisms that generate and shape this variation is a key challenge in biological research, and of obvious relevance also in biomedicine.
What are the gene types, specific genes, and gene regions that contribute to evolutionarily relevant variation?
How do those genetic variants interact with environmental factors to regulate developmental trajectories and outcomes and account for phenotypic plasticity?
For the dissection of variation in complex, diversified, and ecologically-relevant phenotypes the lab uses two complementary models: Bicyclus anynana butterflies and Drosophila melanogaster flies.
Research Projects
- The contribution of novel genes to the formation of evolutionary novelties.
- Gene-by-environment and environment-by-environment effects on phenotypic plasticity.
- Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the mobilization of transposable elements.
Publications
- Saenko SV, MSP Marialva, P Beldade. (2011) Involvement of the conserved Hox gene Antennapedia in the development and evolution of a novel trait EvoDevo 2 : 9
- Beldade P, ARA Mateus, RA Keller. (2011) Evolution and molecular mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity Molecular Ecology 20 : 1347-1363
- Saenko SV, PM Brakefield & P Beldade (2010) Single locus affects embryonic segment polarity and multiple aspects of an adult evolutionary novelty BMC Biology 8 : 111
- Beldade, P., SV Saenko, N Pul & AD Long (2009) A gene-based linkage map for Bicyclus anynana butterflies allows for a comphenesive analysis of synteny with the lepidopteran reference genome PLoS Genetics 5 : e1000366
- Wittkopp PJ & P Beldade (2009) Development and evolution of insect pigmentation: genetic mechanisms and the potential consequences of pleiotropy Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology 20 : 65-71
- Beldade, P., Rudd, S., Gruber, J.D. & Long, A.D. (2006) An Expression Sequence Tag resource for Bicyclus anynana butterflies, an evo-devo model BMC Genomics 7 : 130
- Beldade P, Brakefield, P.M. & Long, A.D. (2002) Contribution of Distal-less to quantitative variation in butterfly eyespots Nature 415 : 315-318
- Beldade, P., Koops, K. & Brakefield, P.M. (2002) Developmental constraints versus flexibility in morphological evolution Nature 416 : 844-847
- Beldade, P. & Brakefield, P.M. (2002) Genetics and evo-devo of butterfly wing patterns Nature Reviews Genetics 3 : 442-452
- Beldade P, K Koop & PM Brakefield (2002) Modularity, individuality, and evo-devo in butterfly wings Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A 99 : 14262-14267
News
Patrícia Beldade, Principal Investigator
PhD in Evolutionary Developmental Genetics, University of Leiden, Netherlands
Phone: +351 214 464 678
E-mail: [email protected]