Phadnis Lab
Principal Investigator: Nitin Phadnis
Institution: University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
Primary Subfield: Genetics/Genomics
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project summary Understanding the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of evolutionary conflicts, and how they shape the evolution of genomes, cells, and species is a fundamental goal in biology. In particular, our research program focuses on understanding how molecular arms races involving selfish genetic elements such as segregation distorters and transposable elements can lead to the rapid evolution of essential cellular machinery and contribute to the origins of new species. Using a highly multidisciplinary approach, we aim to understand the genetic and molecular bases of conflict and hybrid incompatibilities in Drosophila. This proposal briefly describes three research directions pursued in my laboratory. First, we aim to understand the molecular mechanisms of the lethality of hybrid males in crosses between Drosophila melanogaster and sister species. Here, I highlight our discovery of the role of rapidly evolving DNA damage-induced cell cycle checkpoints and DNA replication licensing machinery in hybrid inviability. We propose a testable cell biological model where hybrid lethality is caused by cells attempting to divide before their genomes are fully replicated. Second, we…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35GM156267-02: Molecular mechanisms of genomic conflicts and hybrid incompatibilities (2026)
- 1R35GM156267-01: Molecular mechanisms of genomic conflicts and hybrid incompatibilities (2025)
- 5R01GM141422-04: The mechanisms of segregation distortion in Drosophila (2024)
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