Master’s Project: Investigate immune gene diversity in Anatolian blind mole-rats
Project description: Blind mole-rats (family Spalacidae) are key model species for studying extreme adaptation and speciation under environmental stress. Their diversity is centered in Anatolia, with the Anatolian blind mole-rat (Nannospalax xanthodon) standing out among over 30 species for its ability to live at elevations ranging from sea level to over 3000 meters. It is unclear whether adaptations to high altitudes are linked to immune defense genes.
A critical group of genes for adaptive immunity in vertebrates are those in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). These genes evolve quickly through duplication and divergence. Some duplicated genes are retained while others are lost, leading to differences in MHC organization across species. Additionally, MHC allelic diversity is influenced by parasite-driven selection, which can vary with environmental factors like altitude. This project aims to explore the organization and allelic diversity of MHC loci in the Anatolian blind mole-rat.
Prerequisites: Bright and highly motivated students with: (1) a university bachelor’s degree in Biology, Evolution, or a related discipline, (2) experience with/interest in learning scientific programming languages (e.g. R, Python), (3) interest in genetics and evolution, (4) ability to work independently, (5) excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
Tasks and skills to be acquired:
Evolutionary biology
characterize immune gene diversity
test for signals of selection
create and interpret phylogenetic trees
Bioinformatics
work with NGS data
run programs using command line
write basic computer scripts
Contact: For further information on the project, please contact Dr. Jamie Winternitz jamie.winternitz@uni-hamburg.de in the Dept. of Evolutionary Immunogenomics (Prof. Tobias Lenz) with any inquiries.