$2 Million From Keck Foundation Aids Search for Missing Link

A group of USC molecular biologists, mathematicians and computer scientists are undertaking an ambitious study of the genetic basis of evolutionary adaptation, thanks to a three-year, $2 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation. Most of the effort is taking place in USC College.

The interdisciplinary work seeks to provide several critical missing links, including the genetic key to the evolution of Homo sapiens.

In a suite of four projects, the researchers are examining gene expression, mutation patterns and heredity, in bacteria, plants, oysters and humans. Their goal is to home in on the genetic fundamentals that underlie how complex traits evolve—such as a plant’s tolerance for drought or the growth patterns of a primate’s forebrain.

Project One focuses on evolution in bacteria. Project Two uses a powerful gene-mapping technique called linkage-disequilibrium to seek the genes responsible for adaptation in plants. Project Three studies oysters to explain why offspring of individuals from inbred populations are frequently fitter than their parents. Finally, Project Four sets its sights on identifying the genes that turned Homo erectus into modern humans over the last million years.

Researchers from USC College include: Norman Arnheim, Steven Finkel, Myron Goodman, Donal Manahan, Magnus Nordborg, Simon Tavar