Vicoso Group
Sex-Chromosome Biology and Evolution
Sex chromosomes, such as the X and Y of mammals, are involved in sex-determination in many animal and plant species. Their sex specificity leads them to evolve differently from other chromosomes, and acquire distinctive biological properties. The Vicoso group investigates how sex chromosomes evolve over time, and what biological forces are driving their patterns of differentiation.
The Vicoso group is interested in understanding several aspects of the biology of sex chromosomes, and the evolutionary processes that shape their peculiar features. By combining the use of next-generation sequencing technologies with studies in several model and non-model organisms, they can address a variety of standing questions, such as: Why do some Y chromosomes degenerate while others remain homomorphic, and how does this relate to the extent of sexual dimorphism of the species? What forces drive some species to acquire global dosage compensation of the X, while others only compensate specific genes? What are the frequency and molecular dynamics of sex-chromosome turnover?
Group Leader
Administrative Support
On this site:
Team
Current Projects
Sex chromosome turnover and conservation | Dosage compensation in female-heterogametic species | Gene expression evolution in sexual and asexual species
Publications
Picard MAL, Vicoso B, Bertrand S, Escriva H. 2021. Diversity of modes of reproduction and sex determination systems in invertebrates, and the putative contribution of genetic conflict. Genes. 12(8), 1136. View
Simon A, Fraisse C, El Ayari T, Liautard‐Haag C, Strelkov P, Welch JJ, Bierne N. 2021. How do species barriers decay? Concordance and local introgression in mosaic hybrid zones of mussels. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 34(1), 208–223. View
Gammerdinger WJ, Toups MA, Vicoso B. 2020. Disagreement in FST estimators: A case study from sex chromosomes. Molecular Ecology Resources. 20(6), 1517–1525. View
Fraisse C, Welch JJ. 2020. Simulation code for Fig S2 from the distribution of epistasis on simple fitness landscapes, Royal Society of London, 10.6084/m9.figshare.7957472.v1. View
Fraisse C, Welch JJ. 2020. Simulation code for Fig S1 from the distribution of epistasis on simple fitness landscapes, Royal Society of London, 10.6084/m9.figshare.7957469.v1. View
Career
since 2015 Assistant Professor, IST Austria
2009 – 2014 Postdoc, University of California, Berkeley, USA
2010 PhD, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Selected Distinctions
2017 Member of the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
2016 ERC Starting Grant
2016 FWF Standalone Grant
2011 DeLill Nasser Travel Award from the Genetics Society of America
