Team Leader
Emmarie Alexander
Texas A&M University
Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
emmarie.alexander@tamu.edu
Project Type
Research
Who Can Join
Undergraduate Students
Project Description
Placental mammals have two sex chromosomes – the X and Y. The X-chromosome is critical for tissue and nervous system development, immunity, and cognition, whereas the male-specific Y-chromosome is critical for male reproduction. Interestingly, the X chromosome has remianed nearly identical across 180 million years of evolution, whereas the Y chromosome varies significantly in its size, sequence, and structure. For this project, we will be comparing the Y-chromosomes of several cat species, including the lion and domestic cat. Team members will use bioinformatic methods to explore the fine-scale structural variation and organization present on cat Y-chromosomes with the long-term goal of exploring their possible role in speciation.
Team Needs
The only requirements are to be curious, willing to learn and ask questions, and to be friendly and collaborative. A background in biology, genetics, and/or programming are preferred, but team members will be able to learn these through experience (i.e., journal clubs and group coding sessions).
Special Opportunities
Team members will be able to learn genetics while gaining hands-on experience performing bioinformatics. Students will learn how to use the supercomputing cluster and code in common programming languages (e.g., Bash, Python, and R). Participants can also present at conferences and contribute to the accompanying academic paper. After the first semester, students are welcomed to take the project for research credit.