John Taylor, University of Victoria
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Victoria, British Columbia
taylorjs@uvic.ca
Office:
(250) 472-5206
Bio/Research
My work on whole genome duplication in fish lead to curiosity about the evolutionary consequences of gene duplication. Work in the lab is now focused on two large gene families, opsins and olfactory receptors. We are studying opsin gene duplication in guppies ( Poecilia reticulata) and in the fou...
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Bio/Research
My work on whole genome duplication in fish lead to curiosity about the evolutionary consequences of gene duplication. Work in the lab is now focused on two large gene families, opsins and olfactory receptors. We are studying opsin gene duplication in guppies ( Poecilia reticulata) and in the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps.
Guppies, and other species in the genus Poecilia, have a larger repertoire of Long Wavelength Sensitive (LWS) opsin genes than any other taxon. The 'extra' opsins may lead to unusually good colour (wavelength) discrimination in these colourful fishes. In the four-eyed fish we are most interested in patterns of opsin gene expression in its distinct dorsal and ventral retinas. The research on olfactory receptors (ORs) involves C. elegans, sea urchins, and amphioxus. We are studying the duplication and divergence of non-coding regulatory sequences upstream of C. elegans ORs and identifying and characterizing expression domains of candidate ORs in amphioxus and sea urchin ( Strongylocentrotus purpuratus).
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Guppies, and other species in the genus Poecilia, have a larger repertoire of Long Wavelength Sensitive (LWS) opsin genes than any other taxon. The 'extra' opsins may lead to unusually good colour (wavelength) discrimination in these colourful fishes. In the four-eyed fish we are most interested in patterns of opsin gene expression in its distinct dorsal and ventral retinas. The research on olfactory receptors (ORs) involves C. elegans, sea urchins, and amphioxus. We are studying the duplication and divergence of non-coding regulatory sequences upstream of C. elegans ORs and identifying and characterizing expression domains of candidate ORs in amphioxus and sea urchin ( Strongylocentrotus purpuratus).
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