The Population Genetics and Cytogenetics Group of Vigo University is one of the Reference Groups by The Xunta de Galicia.
The group, formed by about 20 researchers, develops a number of research lines addressing evolutionary issues (speciation, molecular evolution),
genetic characterisation of species of commercial interest, development of informatics tools for the analysis of DNA and the design and management
of conservation programmes.
- Armando Caballero (Professor; coordinator of the group)
He has worked on theoretical and experimental topics in the fields of conservation genetics and evolution.
His main interests are directed towards the development of theoretical models related with inbreeding, population structure,
prediction and estimation of effective population size, and analyses of quantitative traits, as well as in the application of population genetics
in the context of conservation of genetic resources. He has also worked in the estimation of the rate and effect of spontaneous mutations and their
evolutionary implications, with an experimental background with Drosophila, C. elegans and mice.
- Paloma Morán (Professor)
Over the last years, she has been interested in population genetics and molecular cytogenetics of salmonids.
Her research experience has been almost exclusively in the area of fish genetics. Her PhD training involved the learning and application
of classical population analysis techniques such as starch gel electrophoresis and classical cytogenetics to the study of salmonid populations.
She has also large experience in molecular genetics, including hypervariable single locus minisatellite genotyping, mitochondrial DNA RFLP analysis,
PCR amplification, DNA cloning, sequencing, genomic library construction, microsatellites isolation (di, tri, tetra) and molecular cytogenetics like
fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to metaphase chromosomes.
- Emilio Rolán-Alvarez (Professor)
He works on evolutionary ecology and population genetics of marine snails, in particular focusing on causes of intraspecific variation mostly
at very small scales at both phenotypic and molecular levels. Problems of special concern are the role of natural and sexual selection as well as the
evolutionary mechanisms of speciation (evolution of reproductive isolation). He has experience also in developing new statistics to estimate sexual
selection and sexual isolation effects for both qualitative and quantitative traits.
- Juan José Pasantes (Associate Professor)
He works on mollusc and mammal Cytogenetics. The work on molluscs tries to identify bivalve chromosomes both using replication banding patterns and mapping repetitive sequence to mitotic chromosomes and synaptonemal complexes. The relative position of different DNA sequences is compared in order to infer the pattern of chromosomal evolution on those organisms. Comparative studies are also performed on human and primate chromosomes.
- Humberto Quesada (Associate Professor)
Using primarily DNA-based tools, his research is aimed at the elucidation of fundamental aspects of a species' biology such as patterns of dispersal and gene flow, mechanisms of speciation, as well as the detection of the characteristic fingerprint of natural selection on DNA sequences using both a gene-specific and a genome-wide approach. Research includes the molecular analysis of population and species biodiversity of marine animals, the evolution of an exceptional mode of mitochondrial DNA inheritance in bivalves, the evolution of multigene families, the effect of selective sweeps on nucleotide variation, and the study of a case of parallel sympatric speciation in a marine snail.
- Antonio Carvajal-Rodríguez (Isidro Parga Pondal Researcher)
His main research interest is the simulation of evolutionary processes in the computer. He is currently interested in the simulation and study of speciation processes at the genomic level in non-model organisms. He is also concerned with the multiple testing correction issues in genomics and proteomics. He has developed computer programs to analyse and manipulate DNA sequences.
- Ángel E. Pérez Diz (Isidro Parga Pondal Researcher)
He got his PhD at Vigo University in 2005 after developing several studies on the evolutionary and population genetics of marine mussels (Mytilus spp.) through the analysis of microsatellite markers. The main aims were to study levels of gene flow between populations, genetic variation, phylogeography and their application devoted to develop a conservation genetics plan in mussels. Afterwards (2005-2008), he joined to Swansea University (UK) as a postdoctoral researcher to start working on the proteomics field, also in marine organisms. Such studies, at the gene expression level, mainly addressed evolutionary and population genetics issues in mussels (Mytilus spp). He has now recently joined back to Vigo University with an "Angeles Alvariño" contract, carrying out several proteomics studies on Littorina saxatilis.
- Andrés Pérez Figueroa (exÁngeles Alvariño Researcher, postdoctoral fellow)
His main focus is the conservation of genetic resources from a computational point of view, like the study of conservation strategies for the maintenance of genetic diversity in captive populations. Andrés is also developing software to apply those strategies to real conservation units. Currently, he is involved in the estimation of effective population size with age-structured populations with overlapping generations. Another hot topic is the evolutionary quantitative genetics e.g. studying by computer simulations, the behaviour of genetic variance components under several situations, like bottlenecks, epistasis, selection or forced inbreeding.
- Silvia T. Rodríguez Ramilo (Ángeles Alvariño Researcher)
She joined the research group in 2009, after two-years as a postdoctoral researcher in the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) in Madrid. Her PhD thesis, carried out in our group, was related with population management strategies in conservation programs using Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental organism. After the PhD thesis, her main research interests are centred on the application of classical and new technologies to design strategies for the optimisation of conservation programs using computer simulations and empirical data.
- Líneas de investigación en biocomputación (Español)