Evolution in a test tube: what can experiments with yeast teach us about the genetics of complex traits?

Molly Burke is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Integrative Biology here at Oregon State University. Her lab uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer's yeast), a species with an impressive amount of genetic diversity to test hypothesis about:

• how populations adapt to climate change

• physiological consequences of adaptation to stress

• the origins and fates of adaptive alleles

• the repeatability of evolution

• advantages of recombination and outcrossing

• the evolution of aging and reproductive longevity

They use strains collected from around the world in laboratory selection experiments to simulate real-world scenarios. For more information about the lab and to connect, please visit https://www.burkelabosu.org/research.