Gerald Wilkinson
Professor
Associate Dean
Contact
Email: wilkinso@umd.edu
Office Phone: 301.405.6942
Lab: 301.405.6914
Fax: 301.314.9358
Office Address: 2223 Bio-Psych
URL: http://www.life.umd.edu/faculty/wilkinson/
Graduate Program Affiliations
Research Interests
Dr. Wilkinson conducts research on the evolution of social behavior, with emphasis on how genetic mechanisms may influence the outcome of evolution. Recent research in the lab addresses several controversial topics in animal behavior: sexual selection, genomic conflict, cooperation and communication. Stalk-eyed flies are being used as a model system for studying the evolution of sexually selected traits. Our recent empirical and theoretical results have surprisingly implicated meiotic drive as a potent evolutionary agent which can catalyze sexual selection. Using quantitative trait locus studies we confirmed the prediction that sex-linked genes that influence a sexually selected trait are linked to genes causing sex chromosome meiotic drive. By hybridizing genomic DNA to custom Agilent microarrays we discovered that stalk-eyed flies contain a neo-X chromosome and that genes have moved both onto and off of this chromosome. We have recently assembled the genome for a stalk-eyed fly and are currently using RNA-seq to infer gene duplication events and expression change across tissues and sexes for over a dozen different species of flies. Bats in the neotropics and in the US are also being studied in the lab and field to understand how communication mediates cooperation and social learning.
Recent Publications
Baker, R.H., Narechania, A., Johns, P., and Wilkinson, G.S. (2012) Gene duplication, tissue-specific expression and sexual conflict in stalk-eyed flies Diopsidae. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 367:2357-2375 (doi:10.1098/rstb.2011.0287)
Carter, G.G. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2013) Food sharing in vampire bats: reciprocal help predicts donations more than relatedness or harassment. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280: 20122573. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2573)
Wilkinson, G.S., Johns, P.M., Metheny, J.D., and Baker, R.H. (2013) Sex-biased gene expression during head development in a sexually dimorphic stalk-eyed fly. PLoS ONE 83: e59826. (10.1371/journal.pone.0059826)
Husak, J.F., Ribak, G., Baker, R.H., Wilkinson, G.S. and Swallow, J.G. (2013) Effects of ornamentation and phylogeny on the evolution of wing shape in stalk-eyed flies Diopsidae. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26:1281–1293. (doi: 10.1111/jeb.12133)
Uriagereka, J., Reggia, J.A. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2013) A framework for the comparative study of language. Evolutionary Psychology 11:470-492.
Wright, G.S., Chiu, C., Xian, W., Wilkinson, G.S. and Moss, C.F. (2013) Social calls of flying big brown bats. Frontiers in Integrative Physiology 4:214 (doi: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00214)
Carter, G.G. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2013) Does food sharing in vampire bats demonstrate reciprocity? Communicative and Integrative Biology 6:6 e25783 (doi:10.4161/cib.25783)
Rose, E.G., Brand, C.L., and Wilkinson, G.S. (2014) Rapid evolution of asymmetric reproductive incompatibilities in stalk-eyed flies. Evolution 68:384-396 (doi:10.1111/evo.12307)
Wright, G.S., Chiu, C., Xian, W., Wilkinson, G.S. and Moss, C.F. (2014) Social calls predict foraging success in big brown bats. Current Biology 24:885-889 (doi:10.1016/cub.2014.02.058)
Reinhardt, J. A., Brand, C. L., Paczolt, K. A., Johns, P.M., Baker, R. H., and Wilkinson, G. S. (2014) Meiotic drive impacts expression and evolution of X-linked genes in stalk-eyed flies. PLoS Genetics 10:e1004362 (doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004362)
Wilkinson, G.S., Christianson, S.J., Brand, C.L., Ru, G., and Shell, W. (2014) Haldane’s rule is linked to extraordinary sex ratios and sperm length in stalk-eyed flies. Genetics 198: 1167-1181 (doi:10.1534/genetics.114.167536)
Arnold, B.D. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2015) Female natal philopatry and gene flow between divergent clades of pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus). Journal of Mammalogy (in press)
Wilkinson, G.S., Breden, F., Mank, J.E., Ritchie, M.G., Higginson, A.D., Radwan, J., Jaquiery, J., Salzburger, W., Arriero, E., Barribeau, S.M., Phillips, P.C., Renn, S.C.P., and Rowe, L. (2015) The locus of sexual selection: moving sexual selection studies into the post-genomics era. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (in press)
Education
B.S., University of California, Davis, 1977. Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 1984.
Associate Dean
Contact
Email: wilkinso@umd.edu
Office Phone: 301.405.6942
Lab: 301.405.6914
Fax: 301.314.9358
Office Address: 2223 Bio-Psych
URL: http://www.life.umd.edu/faculty/wilkinson/
Graduate Program Affiliations
- Neuroscience & Cognitive Science (NACS)
- BISI - BISI-Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, & Genomics (CBBG)
- BISI - BISI-Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics (BEES)
Research Interests
Dr. Wilkinson conducts research on the evolution of social behavior, with emphasis on how genetic mechanisms may influence the outcome of evolution. Recent research in the lab addresses several controversial topics in animal behavior: sexual selection, genomic conflict, cooperation and communication. Stalk-eyed flies are being used as a model system for studying the evolution of sexually selected traits. Our recent empirical and theoretical results have surprisingly implicated meiotic drive as a potent evolutionary agent which can catalyze sexual selection. Using quantitative trait locus studies we confirmed the prediction that sex-linked genes that influence a sexually selected trait are linked to genes causing sex chromosome meiotic drive. By hybridizing genomic DNA to custom Agilent microarrays we discovered that stalk-eyed flies contain a neo-X chromosome and that genes have moved both onto and off of this chromosome. We have recently assembled the genome for a stalk-eyed fly and are currently using RNA-seq to infer gene duplication events and expression change across tissues and sexes for over a dozen different species of flies. Bats in the neotropics and in the US are also being studied in the lab and field to understand how communication mediates cooperation and social learning.
Recent Publications
Baker, R.H., Narechania, A., Johns, P., and Wilkinson, G.S. (2012) Gene duplication, tissue-specific expression and sexual conflict in stalk-eyed flies Diopsidae. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 367:2357-2375 (doi:10.1098/rstb.2011.0287)
Carter, G.G. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2013) Food sharing in vampire bats: reciprocal help predicts donations more than relatedness or harassment. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280: 20122573. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2573)
Wilkinson, G.S., Johns, P.M., Metheny, J.D., and Baker, R.H. (2013) Sex-biased gene expression during head development in a sexually dimorphic stalk-eyed fly. PLoS ONE 83: e59826. (10.1371/journal.pone.0059826)
Husak, J.F., Ribak, G., Baker, R.H., Wilkinson, G.S. and Swallow, J.G. (2013) Effects of ornamentation and phylogeny on the evolution of wing shape in stalk-eyed flies Diopsidae. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26:1281–1293. (doi: 10.1111/jeb.12133)
Uriagereka, J., Reggia, J.A. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2013) A framework for the comparative study of language. Evolutionary Psychology 11:470-492.
Wright, G.S., Chiu, C., Xian, W., Wilkinson, G.S. and Moss, C.F. (2013) Social calls of flying big brown bats. Frontiers in Integrative Physiology 4:214 (doi: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00214)
Carter, G.G. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2013) Does food sharing in vampire bats demonstrate reciprocity? Communicative and Integrative Biology 6:6 e25783 (doi:10.4161/cib.25783)
Rose, E.G., Brand, C.L., and Wilkinson, G.S. (2014) Rapid evolution of asymmetric reproductive incompatibilities in stalk-eyed flies. Evolution 68:384-396 (doi:10.1111/evo.12307)
Wright, G.S., Chiu, C., Xian, W., Wilkinson, G.S. and Moss, C.F. (2014) Social calls predict foraging success in big brown bats. Current Biology 24:885-889 (doi:10.1016/cub.2014.02.058)
Reinhardt, J. A., Brand, C. L., Paczolt, K. A., Johns, P.M., Baker, R. H., and Wilkinson, G. S. (2014) Meiotic drive impacts expression and evolution of X-linked genes in stalk-eyed flies. PLoS Genetics 10:e1004362 (doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004362)
Wilkinson, G.S., Christianson, S.J., Brand, C.L., Ru, G., and Shell, W. (2014) Haldane’s rule is linked to extraordinary sex ratios and sperm length in stalk-eyed flies. Genetics 198: 1167-1181 (doi:10.1534/genetics.114.167536)
Arnold, B.D. and Wilkinson, G.S. (2015) Female natal philopatry and gene flow between divergent clades of pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus). Journal of Mammalogy (in press)
Wilkinson, G.S., Breden, F., Mank, J.E., Ritchie, M.G., Higginson, A.D., Radwan, J., Jaquiery, J., Salzburger, W., Arriero, E., Barribeau, S.M., Phillips, P.C., Renn, S.C.P., and Rowe, L. (2015) The locus of sexual selection: moving sexual selection studies into the post-genomics era. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (in press)
Education
B.S., University of California, Davis, 1977. Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 1984.