deCODE : Cracking the Code of Adaptive Evolution

Environmental genomics research using natural populations of model species Daphnia can directly measure the rates of genetic and epigenetic evolution and associated fitness gains during an adaptation event. Resurrected populations of Daphnia magna from a lake spanning 100 years of adaptation to hyper-eutrophication and pesticides are being studied for pin-pointing the adaptive targets of natural selection variation in genomes. We are associating the changes in Daphnia genomes, transcriptomes, epigenomes, and metabolomes to the documented evolution of fitness related traits using NGS analysis and advanced computational algorithms.This knowledge will help policy makers and industry to refine their assessments of environmental health risks and prioritize actions that safeguard biodiversity and vital ecosystem services.