Host-Parasite Evolution and Genetics

Keywords

Evolution, Genomics, Mosquitoes, Drosophila, Pathogens

Research interests

Our lab studies the evolution and genetics of hosts and parasites, mostly using insects as a model system. Which genes cause variation in susceptibility to infection and why is this variation maintained in populations? How does natural selection shape parasite and host genomes? What determines whether mosquitoes can transmit human disease? Our research is addressing these questions using the tools of genomics and evolutionary genetics.

Details of our research and publications are on our lab website, which is at : www.jiggins.gen.cam.ac.uk

3 key publications

1. Longdon B, Hadfield J D, Webster C L, Obbard D J and Jiggins F M (2011) Host phylogeny determines viral persistence and replication in novel hosts. PLoS Pathogens. e1002260
2. Magwire M M, Bayer F, Webster C L, Cao C and Jiggins F M (2011) Successive Increases in the Resistance of Drosophila to Viral Infection through a Transposon Insertion Followed by a Duplication. PLoS Genetics. 7: e1002337
3. Obbard D J, Welch J J, Kim K-W and Jiggins F M (2009) Quantifying Adaptive Evolution in the Drosophila Immune System. PLoS Genetics. 5: e1000698

>> Full list of publications on PubMed

Group members updated 27 July 2016