Diana Aguilar-Gómez

There might be, I just haven’t seen them or heard from them. Thank you!

There are definitely ones with white bellies, I have never seen one with white dorsal coloration

Which color morph is your favorite ?

We also found other known coloration genes differentiated between morphs like scarb1, mc5r, multiple keratin genes, among others.

Finally we found that green frogs have bco1, a carotenoid cleaving gene, is very differentiated and more expressed compared to other color morphs

We also found alternative haplotypes for green and yellow frogs in ttc39b gene, which enhances the conversion from dietary yellow carotenoids into red carotenoids. The gene seems to be down regulated in yellow/green frogs, resulting in lower gene expression and lack of red carotenoids in their skin

We found kit (known coloration gene) as one of the main contributors to the genetic basis of blue frogs, where mutations on this gene likely cause a increase and migration of melanosomes to the top layer of skin, rearranging the pigment cells and producing structural blue coloration

We found multiple alternative haplotypes that are older than the divergence of the island populations, where selection has acted to increase the alternative color locally

The strawberry poison frog has dorsal red coloration as a warning signal for predators. It has puzzled evolutionary biologists how multiple colors have evolved in the islands of Bocas del Toro (blue, red, orange, yellow, green) 🌈

We studied the genetics of the strawberry poison frog which is quite challenging since the genome is large and repetitive. We used exome capture to overcome this barrier and be cost effective

Selection-driven color variation in the aposematic strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio Aguilar-Gómez et al. use exome sequencing of 347 strawberry poison frogs to uncover the genetic basis of color variation. They identify that kit, ttc39b, and bco1 underlie blue-red, yellow-red, and gr...

The last chapter of my PhD is finally out !!!! In the same species, on neighboring islands, we see radically different warning colors emerge. Evolution in action:
Selection-driven color variation in the aposematic strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Home The SCalE Meeting is a free, one day regional academic meeting focused on evolutionary genetics and genomics. This year's SCalE Meeting is hosted by UCLA, sponsored by the Institute for Quantitative ...

In the midst of the darkness, I am pleased to announce that UCLA will be hosting the upcoming Southern California Evolutionary Genetics (SCalE) conference on November 1! Registration & abstract submission is here: www.scalemeeting.org/home Deadline is October 13! Hope to see you at UCLA!

Alpine swifts nesting in wooden rafters

Infidelity, divorce, and real-estate drama in the Alpine swift: Dumas et al. found that mate switching behaviours in the Alpine swift likely follow a win-stay lose-switch strategy.
Summary & analysis by Diana Aguilar Gómez: www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...

PNAS Special Feature. Monitoring and Restoring Gene Flow in the Increasingly Fragmented Ecosystems of the Antropocene.

A new PNAS Special Feature combines speciation genomics and conservation biology to address habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss. The articles explore how monitoring and restoring gene flow can support resilient ecosystems in the Anthropocene. Learn more: www.pnas.org/topic/574.