Spurgin, Lewis - University of East Anglia - School of Biological Sciences

个人简介

I'm an evolutionary biologist interested in how natural selection, in combination with other evolutionary forces, creates the extraordinary diversity we see in nature. I’m also interested in how a knowledge of evolutionary processes can be used to address important societal challenges, such as preventing spread of agricultural pests and conserving biodiversity. Details of my research can be found on my personal research website, and a full list of publications can be found on my Google Scholar page. Career History 2016-: BBSRC Future Leader Fellow, University of East Anglia 2015-2016: EGI Research fellow, University of Oxford 2014-2015: Post-doctoral research associate, University of East Anglia 2012-2014: NWO Rubicon Research fellow, University of Groningen 2008-2012: PhD, University of East Anglia 2005-2008: BSc (Hons) Ecology (First Class) Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia

研究领域

My research uses a combination of DNA sequencing, experimental evolution and natural population sampling to understand complex evolutionary and ecological phenomena. I am currently involved in three, broad projects: 1. ‘Evolve and resequence’ experiments in beetle pests I have recently been awarded a BBSRC Future Leader Fellowship to use experimental evolution and whole-genome sequencing to understand the genetic basis of thermal adaptation in red flour beetles. This work, in collaboration with Matt Gage at UEA, involves exposing beetle populations to different thermal regimes in the lab over many generations. Then, using whole-genome sequencing and archived samples, we aim to identify key genetic regions involved in adaptation to temperature, and observe how the genome evolves in response to natural selection, in real time. 2. Ecological genomics in wild bird populations In collaboration with Jon Slate (Sheffield), Ben Sheldon (Oxford), Mirte Bosse and Marcel Visser (Wageningen) and others, I am using genomic approaches to understand evolutionary history and ecological adaptation in great tits (part of the ‘Great Tit HapMap project‘). Using thousands of samples, all genotyped at ~500K SNP markers, we are quantifying population structure, reconstructing evolutionary history, and identifying regions of the genome under selection in one of the most widely studied vertebrates in the world. 3. Candidate gene studies in island birds With David Richardson and Claire Armstrong (UEA) and Juan Carlos Illera (Oviedo), I have been using neutral markers and candidate gene approaches to understand population history and adaptation in island bird species (Berthelot’s pipit, Seychelles warbler). We have largely focussed on key genes of the immune system (e.g. MHC, TLRs), but are now using genomic methods (exon capture) to understand adaptation at many functional gene classes. We aim to use information gained from genetic data to inform conservation.

近期论文

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Bebbington, K., Spurgin, L., Fairfield, E., Dugdale, H. L., Komdeur, J., Burke, T., Richardson, D. S.(2016)Telomere length reveals cumulative individual and transgenerational inbreeding effects in a passerine birdin Molecular Ecology25.pp. 2949–2960 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Gonzalez-Quevedo, C., Davies, R. G., Phillips, K. P., Spurgin, L. G., Richardson, D. S.(2016)Landscape-scale variation in an anthropogenic factor shapes immune gene variation within a wild populationin Molecular Ecology25.pp. 4234–4246 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Lumley, A., Michalczyk, L., Kitson, J., Spurgin, L., Morrison, C., Godwin, J., Dickinson, M., Martin, O., Emerson, B., Chapman, T., Gage, M.(2015)Sexual selection protects against extinctionin Nature522.pp. 470–473 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Gonzalez Quevedo, C., Phillips, K., Spurgin, L., Richardson, D.(2015)454 screening of individual MHC variation in an endemic island passerinein Immunogenetics67.pp. 149-162 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) P. Padilla, D., Spurgin, L. G., Fairfield, E. A., Illera, J., Richardson, D. S.(2015)Population history, gene flow, and bottlenecks in island populations of a secondary seed disperser, the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis koenigi)in Ecology and Evolution5.pp. 36-45 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Gonzalez-Quevedo, C., Spurgin, L. G., Illera, J. C., Richardson, D. S.(2015)Drift, not selection, shapes toll-like receptor variation among oceanic island populationsin Molecular Ecology24.pp. 5852-5863 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Hammers, M., Kingma, S. A., Bebbington, K., van de Crommenacker, J., Spurgin, L. G., Richardson, D. S., Burke, T., Dugdale, H. L., Komdeur, J.(2015)Senescence in the wild: Insights from a long-term study on Seychelles warblersin Experimental Gerontology71.pp. 69-79 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Wright, D. J., Spurgin, L. G., Collar, N. J., Komdeur, J., Burke, T., Richardson, D. S.(2014)The impact of translocations on neutral and functional genetic diversity within and among populations of the Seychelles warblerin Molecular Ecology23.pp. 2165-2177 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Spurgin, L. G., Illera, J. C., Jorgensen, T. H., Dawson, D. A., Richardson, D. S.(2014)Genetic and phenotypic divergence in an island bird: isolation by distance, by colonization or by adaptation?in Molecular Ecology23.pp. 1028-1039 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Spurgin, L., Wright, D., Van der Velde, M., Collar, N., Komdeur, J., Burke, T., Richardson, D.(2014)Museum DNA reveals the demographic history of the endangered Seychelles warblerin Evolutionary Applications7.pp. 1134–1143 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Spurgin, L.(2013)Comment on Gohli et al. (2013): "Does promiscuity explain differences in levels of genetic diversity across passerine birds?"in Evolution67.pp. 3071-3072 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Spurgin, L., Illera, J., Padilla, D., Richardson, D.(2012)Biogeographical patterns and co-occurrence of pathogenic infection across island populations of Berthelot’s pipit (Anthus berthelotii)in Oecologia168.pp. 691-701 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Spurgin, L., Van Oosterhout, C., Illera, J., Bridgett, S., Gharbi, K., Emerson, B., Richardson, D.(2011)Gene conversion rapidly generates major histocompatibility complex diversity in recently founded bird populationsin Molecular Ecology20.pp. 5213-5225 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Spurgin, L., Richardson, D.(2010)How pathogens drive genetic diversity: MHC, mechanisms and misunderstandingsin Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences277.pp. 979-988 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Worley, K., Collet, J., Spurgin, L., Cornwallis, C., Pizzari, T., Richardson, D.(2010)MHC heterozygosity and survival in red junglefowlin Molecular Ecology19.pp. 3064-3075 Full Text UEA Repository(Article) Deborah, D., Horsburgh, G., Kupper, C., Stewart, I., Ball, A., Durrant, K., Hansson, B., Bacon, I., Bird, S., Klein, A., Krupa, A., Lee, J., Martin-Galvez, D., Simeoni, M., Smith, G., Spurgin, L., Burke, T.(2010)New methods to identify conserved microsatellite loci and develop primer sets of high cross‐species utility – as demonstrated for birdsin Molecular Ecology Resources10.pp. 475-494 UEA Repository(Article)