Daven C. Presgraves

Assistant Professor

Contact Information:

University of Rochester
Department of Biology
River Campus Box 270211
Rochester, New York 14627-0211

Hutchison 478

585-275-8946

Daven C. Presgraves

Research Overview


Presgraves Lab Website


Our lab studies a variety of questions in evolutionary genetics using Drosophila as a model system. We combine classical, molecular, and population genetics to study the genetics of speciation, the interaction of recombination and natural selection, and the evolutionary dynamics of the selfish meiotic drive gene complex, Segregation Distorter.

Speciation Genetics

We study the genetics of postzygotic reproductive isolation--the sterility and inviability of species hybrids. Our work on the evolution of hybrid sterility and inviability takes advantage of the genetic and genomic resources of D. melanogaster and its sister species, D. simulans, D. sechellia, and D. mauritiana to map, identify, and characterize the 'speciation genes' that cause hybrid fitness problems.

figure 1

 

We also determine the causes of the strong evolutionary rules that characterize the evolution of hybrid sterility and inviability, like Haldane's rule and the large X-effect.

figure 2

 

Recombination and adaptation

We study the interaction of natural selection and recombination in two ways. First, we use population genetics to test the considerable body of theory that predicts that genetic linkage constrains adaptation. Second, we are now studying the genetic basis of the evolutionary divergence of local recombination rates among closely related Drosophila species.

figure 3

 

Segregation Distorter

The Segregation Distorter (SD) system of Drosophila melanogaster is a classic selfish gene complex. The multiple, linked, epistatically interacting loci of the SD complex function together to gain a transmission advantage from heterozygous males by, in effect, killing rival sperm that bare homologous chromosomes. We are now studying the evolutionary dynamics of SD in natural populations and inferring the timing and geography of its origins.

Selected Publications

  • Presgraves, D. C. 2008. Sex chromosomes and speciation in Drosophila. Trends in Genetics. 24: 336-343.
  • Presgraves, D.C. 2007. Speciation genetics: Epistasis, conflict and the origin of species. Current Biology 17: R125-R127.
  • Presgraves, D.C. 2007. Does genetic conflict drive molecular evolution of nuclear transport genes in Drosophila? BioEssays 29: 386-391.
  • Masly, J.P. and D.C. Presgraves. 2007. High-resolution genome-wide dissection of the two rules of speciation in Drosophila. PLoS Biology 5: 1890-1898.
  • Presgraves, D.C. and W. Stephan. 2007. Pervasive adaptive evolution among interactors of the Drosophila hybrid inviability gene, Nup96. Mol. Biol. Evol 24: 306-314.
  • Presgraves, D.C.. 2006. Intron length evolution in Drosophila. Mol. Biol. Evol 23: 2203-2213.
  • Presgraves, D.C.. 2005. Recombination enhances protein adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster. Curr. Biol. 15: 1651-1656.
  • Presgraves, D.C., L. Balagopalan, S.A. Abmayr and H.A. Orr. 2003. Adaptive evolution drives divergence of a hybrid inviability gene between two species of Drosophila. Nature 243: 715-719 (See "News & Views" piece by M. Noor, pp. 699-700)..
  • Presgraves, D.C.. 2003. A fine-scale genetic analysis of hybrid incompatibilities in Drosophila. Genetics 163: 955-972.
  • Presgraves, D.C.. 2002. Patterns of postzygotic isolation in Lepidoptera. Evolution 56: 1168-1183.
  • Betancourt, A.B., D.C. Presgraves and W.J. Swanson. 2002. A test for faster X evolution in Drosophila. Mol. Biol. Evol. 19: 1816-1819.
  • Betancourt, A.B. and D.C. Presgraves. 2002. Linkage limits the power of natural selection in Drosophila. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 99: 13616-13620 (Featured in "Dispatch" piece by G. Marais and B. Charlesworth in Curr. Biol. 13:R68-70)..
  • Presgraves, D.C. and H.A. Orr. 1998. Haldane's rule is obeyed in taxa lacking a hemizygous sex. Science 282: 952-954 (See "Perspectives" piece by M. Turelli).