S. E. McGaugh

Loci associated with cave-derived traits concentrate in specific regions of the Mexican cavefish genome

The paper maps QTL for cave-derived traits in Mexican cavefish and identifies evolutionary hotspots associated with adaptation to the cave environment.

Gene loss and relaxed selection of plaat1 in vertebrates adapted to low-light environments

The paper examines the evolutionary loss and degradation of plaat1 in vertebrates adapted to low-light environments, showing its role in visual acuity and its loss through relaxed selection.

Selection-driven trait loss in independently evolved cavefish populations

This study shows that selection, not mutation, drives repeated trait evolution in cavefish, with genes having longer coding regions being more likely to undergo repeated adaptation.

Widespread convergent evolution of alpha-neurotoxin resistance in African mammals

The paper identifies convergent evolution of alpha-neurotoxin resistance in mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors across multiple species and finds these substitutions are under positive selection.

Hybridization underlies localized trait evolution in cavefish

This study shows hybridization contributes to localized trait evolution in cavefish by analyzing genomic and phenotypic variation in Chica cave pools.

Pleiotropic function of the oca2 gene underlies the evolution of sleep loss and albinism in cavefish

This study identifies oca2 as a gene with pleiotropic effects that contributes to both albinism and sleep loss in cavefish.

Whole Genome Variation of Transposable Element Insertions in a Maize Diversity Panel

This study analyzes TE insertion polymorphisms across 509 maize inbred lines using short read sequencing, revealing patterns of TE frequency, nesting, and SNP tagging.

Repeated evolution of circadian clock dysregulation in cavefish populations

This study shows that cavefish populations have independently evolved circadian clock dysregulation, with reduced transcriptome rhythmicity and sleep reduction linked to specific gene mutations.

Unique transcriptional signatures of sleep loss across independently evolved cavefish populations

The paper examines sleep homeostasis in cavefish and surface fish, finding unique transcriptional responses to sleep loss in independently evolved cave populations.

Evidence for rapid phenotypic and behavioral change in a recently established cavefish population

This study compares phenotypic and behavioral traits between a recently established cavefish population and its surface counterpart, finding significant differences in morphology and behavior.

The role of gene flow in rapid and repeated evolution of cave related traits in Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus

This study shows that gene flow plays a significant role in the rapid evolution of cave-related traits in Mexican tetra, challenging the classic hypothesis of disuse and drift.

Limited role of differential fractionation in genome content variation and function in maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines

The paper investigates differential fractionation in maize inbred lines and finds it contributes little to presence/absence variation and functional phenotypic differences.