elegans, I am focusing on quantitative reproductive traits that are relative to fitness, for which genetically identical individuals that develop in the same environment exhibit substantial variation. Do micro-environmental differences or other causes lead to these differences? Genetic background cannot be controlled in humans, and for many other species. To gain traction on the question of why individuals are different from each other, I have honed in on part of this question: how are individuals different from each other, even when they are genetically identical? Many identical human twins exhibit divergent disease outcomes or have different traits, even when raised in similar environments, for reasons that remain poorly understood. Postdoctoral Research: Why are genetically identical individuals distinct? In sum, both the genetic and environmental conditions across generations can be carefully controlled with this system, and the worm community has developed resources to facilitate sophisticated analysis of the causes and consequences of variation. elegans as well as related nematodes in the Caenorhabditis genus. In addition, the nematode community has collected and sequenced many genetically-distinct wild isolates within C.

elegans genome was the first animal genome to be sequenced, and it is well annotated. These worms are microscopic and transparent, can be genetically altered via CRISPR or other genetic engineering approaches, and can be grown in liquid or on plates. In the case of inbred lines, each worm produces genetically identical progeny, making it relatively easy to generate thousands of genetically identical worms. Each individual hermaphrodite can produce roughly 300 progeny in a matter of days. elegans primarily exist as hermaphrodites (with rare males) and do not exhibit inbreeding depression. elegans is well-suited to support research in the area of individual variation.

The Wild by K. Webster