CAnMove

Currently there is a heated debate as to whether free-living microbes are present in all environments that they can exploit or whether they exhibit biogeographic patterns due to geographical isolation or natural selection. One approach to tackle this question is to study the underlying processes.
 
Within this project, we are studying local adaptation, genetic divergence, and speciation in free-living microbes. As model organisms, we use the dinoflagellates, an ecologically and economically important group of planktonic protist. We are working with two lineages found at a range of salinities, that display varying degrees of genetic divergence; from local adaptation of neighboring populations to a recent speciation event. These species also occur in recently formed saline lakes in the Vestfold Hills in Antarctica. My previous studies suggest genetic diverge among lakes and  possibly local adaptation to salinity. The objective of this project is to investigate the role of the salinity barrier in local adaptation and genetic divergence, and to identify genes and subsequently molecular markers involved in these processes. DNA fingerprinting analyses (AFLP) have been applied to a new large set of strains, to determine genetic distance among populations.

Currently we are analysing the results from salinity tolerance experiments in one species (Polarella glacialis) and the population genetic structure of Scrippsiella aff. hangoei.