Niclas Backström
Professor at Department of Ecology and Genetics; Evolutionary Biology
- Telephone:
- +46 18 471 64 15
- E-mail:
- niclas.backstrom@ebc.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Evolutionsbiologiskt centrum
Norbyvägen 18D
752 36 UPPSALA - Postal address:
- Evolutionsbiologiskt centrum
Norbyvägen 18D
752 36 UPPSALA
More information is available to staff who log in.
Short presentation
Characterizing the genetic basis of traits of importance for local adaptation and species recognition is a major aim for evolutionary biologists of today.
We use a combination of genetic mapping, population genetics and comparative genomics approaches to study the speciation process, the genetic basis of adaptive traits and patterns of genome evolution. We are primarily using natural populations of butterflies as study organisms.
Biography
- 2020 – Professor (Biology: Evolutionary Genomics), Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Program, Uppsala University.
- 2018 – 2020 Senior lecturer, (Associate Professor), Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Program, Uppsala University.
- 2017 – 2018 Associate senior lecturer, (Assistant Professor), Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Program, Uppsala University.
- 2017 Awarded Title of Docent in Biology with specialization in Evolutionary Genetics, Uppsala University
- 2014 – 2016 Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Program, Uppsala University. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
- 2012 - 2013 Repatriation research fellow, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Program, Uppsala University. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
- 2009 - 2012 Postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
- 2005 - 2009 PhD in Evolutionary Genetics, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Program, Uppsala University.
- 2000 - 2004 Master’s Degree (MSc) in Biology, Uppsala University
Research
Since the Modern Synthesis, when Darwin’s model of evolution by natural selection was combined with principles of chromosome inheritance and population genetic theory, it has been appreciated that genetic approaches are central for our understanding of local adaptation and the forces that drive population differentiation and speciation. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms.
Examples of core questions that still are largely unresolved are: What genetic elements underlie adaptations and population differentiation and how are they distributed over the genome? How many loci are involved and what proportional effect does each locus have? How important is epistasis and pleiotropy in general and in specific cases? What are the causes and consequences of molecular factors like mutation, recombination, gene conversion and chromosome rearrangements? Are functional changes the result of expression differences or structural changes?
Our research aims at understanding the genetic underpinnings of local adaptation, population differentiation and speciation and to quantify how variation in karyotype structure and recombination rate affect the genome and the potential for adaptation. We address these questions using both classical genetic methods and new genomic tools.
Birds and butterflies demonstrate a copious diversity in phenotypic traits and adaptations. They are widespread, generally abundant and often eye-catching. As a result, birds and butterflies have for long been tractable study organisms in ecology, hybrid zone dynamics and speciation research. Many of these ecological model systems have now reached a point where data on species-specific behavior, morphology and ecology can be combined with large-scale molecular investigations. In an international collaborative framework we have formulated hypotheses to answer key questions related to reproductive isolation, local adaptation, genome evolution and conservation practices in a set of systems including recently to moderately diverged populations and species; wood white (Leptidea sp.) butterflies, the painted lady (Vanessa cardui), the clouded apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) and Assmann's fritillary (Melitaea britomartis).
Publications
Recent publications
- Meiotic drive against chromosome fusions in butterfly hybrids (2024)
- A Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Annotation for the Clouded Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius mnemosyne) (2024)
- Environmental stress during larval development induces DNA methylation shifts in the migratory painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) (2023)
- Migratory behaviour is positively associated with genetic diversity in butterflies (2023)
- High-density linkage maps and chromosome level genome assemblies unveil direction and frequency of extensive structural rearrangements in wood white butterflies (Leptidea spp.) (2023)
All publications
Articles
- Meiotic drive against chromosome fusions in butterfly hybrids (2024)
- A Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Annotation for the Clouded Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius mnemosyne) (2024)
- Environmental stress during larval development induces DNA methylation shifts in the migratory painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) (2023)
- Migratory behaviour is positively associated with genetic diversity in butterflies (2023)
- High-density linkage maps and chromosome level genome assemblies unveil direction and frequency of extensive structural rearrangements in wood white butterflies (Leptidea spp.) (2023)
- Nascent evolution of recombination rate differences as a consequence of chromosomal rearrangements (2023)
- Base composition, codon usage and patterns of gene sequence evolution in butterflies. (2023)
- The fine-scale recombination rate variation and associations with genomic features in a butterfly (2023)
- Whole genome re-sequencing uncovers significant population structure and low genetic diversity in the endangered clouded apollo (Parnasssius mnemosyne) in Sweden (2023)
- Linkage mapping and genome annotation give novel insights into gene family expansions and regional recombination rate variation in the painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly (2022)
- The Effects of GC-Biased Gene Conversion on Patterns of Genetic Diversity among and across Butterfly Genomes (2021)
- Host plant diet affects growth and induces altered gene expression and microbiome composition in the wood white (Leptidea sinapis) butterfly (2021)
- Tissue-specific patterns of regulatory changes underlying gene expression differences among Ficedula flycatchers and their naturally occurring F1 hybrids (2020)
- Multilayered Tuning of Dosage Compensation and Z-Chromosome Masculinization in the Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) Butterfly (2019)
- Lack of gene flow (2019)
- Dissecting the Effects of Selection and Mutation on Genetic Diversity in Three Wood White (Leptidea) Butterfly Species (2019)
- Gene expression profiling across ontogenetic stages in the wood white (Leptidea sinapis) reveals pathways linked to butterfly diapause regulation (2018)
- Association mapping of morphological traits in wild and captive zebra finches (2017)
- Patterns of genetic, phenotypic, and acoustic variation across a chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita abietinus/tristis) hybrid zone (2017)
- Heterogeneous Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Differentiation in European and Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita abietinus/P. tristis) (2017)
- Rapid Increase in Genome Size as a Consequence of Transposable Element Hyperactivity in Wood-White (Leptidea) Butterflies (2017)
- Divergence in gene expression within and between two closely related flycatcher species (2016)
- DNA barcodes highlight unique research models in European butterflies (2015)
- Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Reveals Partial Translational Regulation for Dosage Compensation in Chicken (2015)
- Adaptive evolution in passerine birds (2014)
- Estimation of linkage disequilibrium and interspecific gene flow in Ficedula flycatchers by a newly developed 50k single-nucleotide polymorphism array (2014)
- A high-density linkage map enables a second-generation collared flycatcher genome assembly and reveals the patterns of avian recombination rate variation and chromosomal evolution (2014)
- Reconstruction of gross avian genome structure, organization and evolution suggests that the chicken lineage most closely resembles the dinosaur avian ancestor (2014)
- Phylogeography-based delimitation of subspecies boundaries in the common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) (2014)
- Assembly errors cause false tandem duplicate regions in the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome sequence (2014)
- A house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) spleen transcriptome reveals intra- and interspecific patterns of gene expression, alternative splicing and genetic diversity in passerines. (2014)
- Inferring the demographic history of European Ficedula flycatcher populations (2013)
- Cis-regulatory sequence variation and association with Mycoplasma load in natural populations of the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) (2013)
- Evidence from a House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) Spleen Transcriptome for Adaptive Evolution and Biased Gene Conversion in Passerine Birds (2013)
- Y-Chromosome Analysis in Retuertas Horses (2013)
- Out of Florida (2012)
- The genomic landscape of species divergence in Ficedula flycatchers (2012)
- Sex- and species-biased gene flow in a spotted eagle hybrid zone. (2011)
- The recombination landscape of the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata genome (2010)
- A high-density scan of the Z chromosome in ficedula flycatchers reveals candidate loci for diversifying selection (2010)
- No evidence for Z-chromosome rearrangements between the pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher as judged by gene-based comparative genetic maps (2010)
- Comparative genomics based on massive parallel transcriptome sequencing reveals patterns of substitution and selection across 10 bird species (2010)
- Phylogeographic structure and gene flow of Himalayan snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis) (2010)
- Molecular evolution of genes in avian genomes (2010)
- Copy number variation, chromosome rearrangement, and their association with recombination during avian evolution (2010)
- The genome of a songbird (2010)
- Speciation genetics (2010)
- Genomics of natural bird populations (2008)
- A Gene-Based Genetic Linkage Map of the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) Reveals Extensive Synteny and Gene-Order Conservation During 100 Million Years of Avian Evolution (2008)
- Genetic mapping in a natural population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) (2006)
- Levels of linkage disequilibrium in a wild bird population (2006)
- Substitution rate heterogeneity and the male mutation bias. (2006)
- Gene conversion drives the evolution of HINTW, an ampliconic gene on the female-specific avian W chromosome. (2005)
- Sequence and comparative analysis of the chicken genome provide unique perspectives on vertebrate evolution (2004)
- Limited number of patrilines in horse domestication. (2004)
- On the origin of an insular hybrid butterfly species
- Evolution of hybrid inviability associated with chromosome fusions
- Dualistic dosage compensation and rapid evolution of expression balance in response to W chromosome degeneration in Leptidea butterflies
- High-density linkage maps and chromosome level genome assemblies unveil direction and frequency of extensive structural rearrangements in wood white butterflies (Leptidea spp.)
- Nascent evolution of recombination rate as a consequence of chromosomal rearrangements.
- Activity profiles of regulatory elements and associations with the oogenesis-flight syndrome in a long-distance butterfly migrant.