Christopher N. Balakrishnan

This study examines TB susceptibility and inbreeding depression in captive white-winged wood ducks, linking genetic diversity loss to increased disease vulnerability.

The paper identifies convergent genomic adaptations in brood parasitic birds, including genes related to spermatogenesis and nervous system development, across independent origins of parasitism.

The paper identifies a diverse and variable odorant receptor repertoire in birds, including the kiwi, and reveals gene conversion as a mechanism for generating functional diversity in avian olfaction.

The paper generates genome assemblies for ten brood parasitic bird species and their outgroups, enabling comparative genomic analyses of obligate brood parasitism evolution.

The paper summarizes methods and lessons from assembling 16 vertebrate genomes, highlights the importance of long-read sequencing, and introduces the Vertebrate Genomes Project to generate complete reference genomes for all vertebrate species.

The paper examines how parental genotypes and care strategies affect nestling gene expression in white-throated sparrows, identifying differentially expressed genes and co-expression modules linked to metabolism and stress response.

The paper uses RNA-seq and WGCNA to analyze gene expression in vertebrate social behavior network nodes, revealing co-regulation patterns of neuroendocrine genes across species.

This study investigates the transcriptional response to West Nile virus infection in zebra finches, identifying similarities and differences with mammalian immune responses.