Niclas Backström

Professor , Head of Program for Evolutionary Biology 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

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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).