- Professor
Biography
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Education
PhD, Biology, University of Kentucky
Research Interests
In the Storfer laboratory, we use genomic tools study the processes that lead to the geographic distribution of genetic variation. We use approaches in landscape genetics and landscape genomics to elucidate patterns of selection and gene flow across natural populations. Specifically, we study emerging infectious diseases, including ranaviruses in amphibians and transmissble cancer that infects Tasmanian devils as, major selective forces that drive spatial patterns of evolution and local adaptation. To validate candidate genes discovered through population genomics analyses, we conduct transcriptomics studies and use functional genomics tools, such as CRISPR/Cas9 combined with in vitro experiments. We also study species’ range limits – a central mystery in ecology and evolutionary biology is understanding why most species’ range limits are not demarcated by obvious geographic boundaries.
Representative Publications
- Storfer, A., P.A. Hohenlohe, M.J. Margres, H.I. McCallum, A.H. Patton, A.K. Fraik, M. Lawrance, L. Ricci, A. Stahlke, M.E. Jones 2018. The devil is in the details: Genomics of a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils. PLoS Pathogens. doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007098
- Storfer, A., A.H. Patton and A.K. Fraik. 2018. Navigating the intersection of landscape genomics and landscape genetics. Frontiers in Genetics. doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00068
- Margres, M.J., M. Jones, B Epstein†, S. Comte, S. Fox…A. Storfer 2018. Large-effect loci affect survival in Tasmanian devils infected with a transmissible cancer. Molecular Ecology 27: 4189-4199. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14853.
- Margres, M.J., M. Ruiz, R. Hamede, M. Jones, M. Lawrance, S.A. Hendricks, A. Patton, B.W. Davis, E. A. Ostrander, H. McCallum, P.A. Hohenlohe and A. Storfer 2018. The genomic basis of tumor regression in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii). Genome Biology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evy229.
- Micheletti, S. and A Storfer. 2017. An approach for identifying cryptic barriers to gene flow that limit species’ geographic ranges. Molecular Ecology 26: 490-504.
- Epstein, B., M Jones, R Hamede, S Hendricks, H McCallum, EP Murchison, B Schönfeld, C Wiench, P Hohenlohe and A Storfer. 2016. Rapid evolutionary response to a transmissible cancer. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5084
- Epstein, B. and A. Storfer. 2016. Comparative genomics of an emerging amphibian virus. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 6:15-27 doi: 10.1534/g3.115.023762
- Trumbo, D., S.F. Spear, J. Baumsteiger and A. Storfer. 2013. Rangewide landscape genetics of an endemic Pacific Northwestern salamander. Molecular Ecology. 22: 1250-1266.
- Storfer, A., M. E. Alfaro, B.J. Ridenhour, J.K. Jancovich, S.G. Mech, M.J. Parris and J.P. Collins. 2007. Phylogenetic concordance analysis shows an emerging pathogen is novel and endemic. Ecology Letters. 10:1075-1083.
- Storfer, A., M. A. Murphy, J. S. Evans, C. S. Goldberg, S. Robinson, S. F. Spear, R. Dezzani, E. Demelle, L. Vierling, and L. P. Waits. 2007. Putting the “landscape” in landscape genetics. Heredity 98:128-142.