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Environmental Genomics

Origins of biodiversity

Tracking genetic changes in the wild

Researchers have recently made great progress in identifying the genes that control continuously varying features, such as disease susceptibility or the timing of life stages such as flowering or reproductive age. These genes, or regions of the genome, are known as Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL).

Scientists have mainly studied these types of genes using organisms in controlled experiments in the laboratory. However, environmental genomics makes it possible to study these genes in the wild. This is useful because we can track the genetic changes that take place as organisms adapt to their changing environment.

The St Kilda Soay Sheep Project

This project has created the first comprehensive genetic map for a free-living population, and asked: where on the map do genes for certain characteristics sit? The team used pedigree information from a well-studied population of wild Soay sheep to identify the QTL for body size, jaw length, reproductive timing and parasite resistance.

One of these genes in particular has made a difference to our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of this population of sheep. Soay sheep display differences in colour and scientists have located the exact gene mutation which causes them to be either dark or light. Interestingly, this mutation is also linked to their fitness, with the mutation responsible for lighter sheep emerging more frequently than those for darker coats.

This is just one of a number of long-term trends Environmental Genomics researchers have seen on St. Kilda. Despite its erratic dynamics, the population it is steadily rising and the size of the Soay sheep are gradually decreasing. An interesting question for future research is whether the exceptional recent plant growth on the island, due to climatic conditions, is provoking a period of evolutionary change.