Richard A. Nichols

Recurrent evolution of cryptic triploids in cultivated enset increases yield

This paper identifies recurrent triploidy in cultivated enset, showing it increases yield and is selected by farmers.

Combined phylogenetic and geographic data can predict plant-pest interactions with high accuracy

The paper builds a Bayesian model to predict plant-pest interactions using phylogenetic and geographic data, achieving high accuracy in identifying host risks for Agrilus beetles.

European ash pangenome reveals widespread structural variation and genetic basis of low ash dieback susceptibility

The paper develops a pangenome for European ash to identify genetic variation linked to low susceptibility to ash dieback disease.

Genetic basis of traits and performance in UK silver birch

The paper identifies SNPs and structural polymorphisms associated with growth traits in silver birch and evaluates their predictive power for growth rates across different environments.

Quantitative measurement of phenotype dynamics during cancer drug resistance evolution using genetic barcoding

This paper develops a mathematical framework to infer cancer drug resistance dynamics from genetic lineage tracing and population size data, validated using experimental evolution and single-cell sequencing.

Novel Endogenous Retroviruses in Anura

The paper identifies ten novel endogenous retrovirus families in Anuran genomes, revealing recombined states and expanding the known evolutionary history of ERVs beyond mammals.

Genomic architecture and evolutionary conflict drive allele-specific expression in the social supergene of the red fire ant

The paper investigates allele-specific expression in the social supergene of red fire ants, finding most genes show no social form dependence but some exhibit signs of gene degeneration or evolutionary conflict.