Posts in Speciation
New collaborations

The Larson Lab is starting a new collaboration with Drs. Martin Garlovsky and Tim Karr to map protein abundance in hybridizing crickets. We were lucky to host Martin this September. During his visit we all attended the Guild of the Rocky Mountain Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists meeting (GREEBs) at the University of Colorado Mountain Research Station, Martin presented at our department seminar, and we collected tons of cricket spermatophores for protein analysis.

 
 
New paper on gene expression in hybrids

Emily and Erica collaborated with Anna Runemark at Lund University on this survey of gene expression in hybrids. This paper was made possible by support from the University of Denver Internationalization International Partnership & Development Grant and the Swedish Foundation for International Research and Higher Education (STINT).

Runemark A, Moore EM, and EL Larson. 2024. Hybridization and gene expression: beyond differentially expressed genes. Molecular Ecology. 00:e17303. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17303

 
 
An expansive survey of PMPZ barriers

Erica collaborated with an amazing team to survey the scope and role of postmating prezygotic (PMPZ) barriers in speciation. This was a massive and comprehensive survey of the literature and should be a landmark paper for studies of PMPZ barriers!

Garlovsky MD, Whittington E, Albrecht T, Arenas-Castro H, Castillo DM, Keais GL; Larson EL, Moyle L, Plakke M, Reifová R, Snook RR, Ålund M, AAT Weber. 2023. Synthesis and scope of the role of postmating prezygotic isolation in speciation. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. 15: a041429. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a041429

Fall field season is underway

TJ is leading a massive field effort between the Larson and Firneno Labs! Below are a few photos from their various trips across the field cricket hybrid zone.

Visit to the Runemark Lab at Lund University

Erica and Emily traveled to Lund, Sweden to visit the Runemark Lab and work on a publication with Anna. They enjoyed a traditional Swedish crayfish party and a tour of Scania.

Fall Lab Retreat

The Larson Lab, Taylor Lab (University of Colorado Boulder), Runemark Lab (Lund University), and Velotta Lab (University of Denver) had a fall research retreat at CU’s Mountain Research Station. Everyone presented their research, cooked lots of great food and carved pumpkins.

 
 
Erica was interviewed by National Geographic

Erica was interviewed by National Geographic for the article “Ligers, zorses, and pizzlies: How animals hybrids happen” by Jason Bittel.

 

“When you have two species whose genomes have undergone independent evolution for hundreds of thousands of years, and then you bring them back together, and you mix up those genomes in the form of a hybrid,” says Larson, “you get to understand what works and what doesn't.”

 
SpeciationErica Larson
New lab preprints!

Exciting to see these new preprints online:

Kelsie’s first chapter of her dissertation - super proud of this one! https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.08.451646

An amazingly fun project with the awesome Mollie Manier: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.15.468624v1

A new paper on disrupted X chromosome expression in sterile mouse hybrids: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.12.468424v1

And two impressive collaborations led by the Good Lab at the University of Montana from Emily Kopania: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.04.455131v2 and from Emily Moore: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.11.15.468705v2