# Empirical tests of the contributions of genomic variation to the trajectories of adaptation

> **NIH NIH R35** · WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $375,686

## Abstract

ESI MIRA Project Summary – Seth Rudman
Project Summary
A comprehensive mechanistic understanding of the process of adaptation that is predictive of
outcomes is a fundamental goal in evolutionary biology and advances towards this goal have profound
implications for human health. Adaptation, particularly in animal populations, is primarily studied
retrospectively through the patterns it produces. Yet, decades of research have demonstrated that
adaptation in natural populations occurs quickly. A growing number of field experiments, including
much of my recent work, have demonstrated key insight into the process of adaptation by observing as
it occurs. With advances in sequencing and bioinformatics it is now tractable to use forward-in-time
experimental approaches to directly observe the process of adaptation in sexually reproducing diploid
animals by studying repeated changes across independent populations, which is amongst the strongest
evidence of adaptation. Combining a forward-in-time experimental approach with manipulations of
aspects of genetic diversity, the selective landscape, or demography can directly test hypotheses
about the genomic architecture, constraint, and pace of adaptation providing key insight into the
process of rapid adaptation. I propose experiments united by an approach that leverages existing
molecular and population genetics tools in Drosophila melanogaster for replicated field experiments that
directly test key hypotheses about the relationship between genetic variation, adaptation, and the
predictability of evolution in animal populations. The primary questions are: 1) Are genotype-phenotype
relationships of complex traits predictive of the outcomes of adaptation; 2) Are large effect loci essential
for rapid adaptation from standing genetic variation; 3) What is the relationship between the amount of
genetic diversity and the pace and parallelism of adaptation; and 4) Does gene flow into locally adapted
but declining populations promote or constrain adaptation and population persistence and does this
depend on the amount of genetic diversity in the recipient population. In addition to directly answering
these questions, these experiments will provide data on the pace, predictability, and importance of
adaptation in shaping both genomic diversity and the persistence of populations inhabiting rapidly
changing environments. The work I propose here is part of building a research program that tests
fundamental questions in evolutionary biology by manipulating factors hypothesized to influence
adaptation and directly observing their effects with the ultimate aim of building a mechanistic
understanding of adaptation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10845663
- **Project number:** 5R35GM147264-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Seth Rudman
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $375,686
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10845663

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10845663, Empirical tests of the contributions of genomic variation to the trajectories of adaptation (5R35GM147264-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10845663. Licensed CC0.

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