A group of young women in lab coats on McKeldin Mall

Thomas Kocher headshot
Contact Info
Office Phone: 301.405.4496
Lab Phone: 301.405.6242
Fax: 301.314.9358
Office Address: 2132 Bioscience Research Bldg
Kocher Lab Website
Thomas Kocher
Professor

Teaching

  • BSCI 222: Principles of Genetics (Fall semesters)
  • BIOL338K: Genetic Research on Cichlid Fishes
  • BIOL708J: Genomic Approaches in Ecology and Evolution (not currently taught)

Graduate Program Affiliation

  • BISI-Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics (BEES)

Research Interests

More than 700 species of cichlid fishes have arisen within Lake Malawi within the last million years. We want to understand the evolutionary forces which have caused this rapid speciation. We are mapping genes for phenotypic traits associated with speciation, such as jaw morphology, color pattern, sex determination and mate preferences. Our ultimate goal is to identify the genes responsible for speciation of these fishes, and to study the geographic distribution of allelic variants among populations in the wild.

Education

B.A., Yale University, 1981
Ph.D., University of Colorado, 1986

All Publications

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Latest Publications via PubMed

Zheng S,Tao W,Yang H,Kocher TD,Wang Z,Peng Z,Jin L,Pu D,Zhang Y,Wang D
Correction to: 'Identification of sex chromosome and sex-determining gene of southern catfish based on XX, XY and YY genome sequencing' (2022) by Zheng et al.
Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Jan 11;290(1990):20222381. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2381. Epub 2023 Jan 4
Behrens KA,Koblmüller S,Kocher TD
Sex chromosomes in the tribe Cyprichromini (Teleostei: Cichlidae) of Lake Tanganyika.
Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 26;12(1):17998. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-23017-y. Epub 2022 Oct 26
Wang C,Xu J,Kocher TD,Li M,Wang D
CRISPR Knockouts of pmela and pmelb Engineered a Golden Tilapia by Regulating Relative Pigment Cell Abundance.
J Hered. 2022 Jul 23;113(4):398-413. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esac018. Epub
Triay C,Courcelle M,Caminade P,Bezault E,Baroiller JF,Kocher TD,D'Cotta H
Polymorphism of Sex Determination Amongst Wild Populations Suggests its Rapid Turnover Within the Nile Tilapia Species.
Front Genet. 2022;13:820772. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.820772. Epub 2022 May 17
Kocher TD,Behrens KA,Conte MA,Aibara M,Mrosso HDJ,Green ECJ,Kidd MR,Nikaido M,Koblmüller S
New Sex Chromosomes in Lake Victoria Cichlid Fishes (Cichlidae: Haplochromini).
Genes (Basel). 2022 Apr 30;13(5):. doi: 10.3390/genes13050804. Epub 2022 Apr 30
Zheng S,Tao W,Yang H,Kocher TD,Wang Z,Peng Z,Jin L,Pu D,Zhang Y,Wang D
Identification of sex chromosome and sex-determining gene of southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis) based on XX, XY and YY genome sequencing.
Proc Biol Sci. 2022 Mar 30;289(1971):20212645. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2645. Epub 2022 Mar 16
Tao W,Cao J,Xiao H,Zhu X,Dong J,Kocher TD,Lu M,Wang D
A Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) Reveals the Structure of Sex Determining Regions.
Front Genet. 2021;12:796211. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.796211. Epub 2021 Dec 8
Wang C,Lu B,Li T,Liang G,Xu M,Liu X,Tao W,Zhou L,Kocher TD,Wang D
Nile Tilapia: A Model for Studying Teleost Color Patterns.
J Hered. 2021 Aug 25;112(5):469-484. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esab018. Epub
Zheng S,Shao F,Tao W,Liu Z,Long J,Wang X,Zhang S,Zhao Q,Carleton KL,Kocher TD,Jin L,Wang Z,Peng Z,Wang D,Zhang Y
Chromosome-level assembly of southern catfish (silurus meridionalis) provides insights into visual adaptation to nocturnal and benthic lifestyles.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2021 Jul;21(5):1575-1592. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13338. Epub 2021 May 12
Zhang S,Xie L,Zheng S,Lu B,Tao W,Wang X,Kocher TD,Zhou L,Wang D
Identification, Expression and Evolution of Short-Chain Dehydrogenases/Reductases in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Apr 18;22(8):. doi: 10.3390/ijms22084201. Epub 2021 Apr 18
Conte MA,Clark FE,Roberts RB,Xu L,Tao W,Zhou Q,Wang D,Kocher TD
Origin of a Giant Sex Chromosome.
Mol Biol Evol. 2021 Apr 13;38(4):1554-1569. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa319. Epub
Tao W,Conte MA,Wang D,Kocher TD
Network architecture and sex chromosome turnovers: Do epistatic interactions shape patterns of sex chromosome replacement?
Bioessays. 2021 Mar;43(3):e2000161. doi: 10.1002/bies.202000161. Epub 2020 Dec 7
Carleton KL,Conte MA,Malinsky M,Nandamuri SP,Sandkam BA,Meier JI,Mwaiko S,Seehausen O,Kocher TD
Movement of transposable elements contributes to cichlid diversity.
Mol Ecol. 2020 Dec;29(24):4956-4969. doi: 10.1111/mec.15685. Epub 2020 Nov 13
Sun L,Gao T,Wang F,Qin Z,Yan L,Tao W,Li M,Jin C,Ma L,Kocher TD,Wang D
Chromosome-level genome assembly of a cyprinid fish Onychostoma macrolepis by integration of nanopore sequencing, Bionano and Hi-C technology.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2020 Sep;20(5):1361-1371. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13190. Epub 2020 Jul 20
Triay C,Conte MA,Baroiller JF,Bezault E,Clark FE,Penman DJ,Kocher TD,D'Cotta H
Structure and Sequence of the Sex Determining Locus in Two Wild Populations of Nile Tilapia.
Genes (Basel). 2020 Aug 29;11(9):. doi: 10.3390/genes11091017. Epub 2020 Aug 29
Conith AJ,Kidd MR,Kocher TD,Albertson RC
Ecomorphological divergence and habitat lability in the context of robust patterns of modularity in the cichlid feeding apparatus.
BMC Evol Biol. 2020 Jul 31;20(1):95. doi: 10.1186/s12862-020-01648-x. Epub 2020 Jul 31
Tao W,Shi H,Yang J,Diakite H,Kocher TD,Wang D
Homozygous mutation of foxh1 arrests oogenesis causing infertility in female Nile tilapia†.
Biol Reprod. 2020 Mar 13;102(3):758-769. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioz225. Epub
Zheng Q,Xiao H,Shi H,Wang T,Sun L,Tao W,Kocher TD,Li M,Wang D
Loss of Cyp11c1 causes delayed spermatogenesis due to the absence of 11-ketotestosterone.
J Endocrinol. 2020 Mar;244(3):487-499. doi: 10.1530/JOE-19-0438. Epub
Clark FE,Kocher TD
Changing sex for selfish gain: B chromosomes of Lake Malawi cichlid fish.
Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 27;9(1):20213. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55774-8. Epub 2019 Dec 27
Carleton KL,Escobar-Camacho D,Kocher TD
Visual adaptation could aid sympatric speciation in a deep crater lake.
Mol Ecol. 2019 Dec;28(23):5007-5009. doi: 10.1111/mec.15278. Epub 2019 Nov 20