Deborah Charlesworth

Tel: +44 (0)131 650 5751
Email: deborah.charlesworth@ed.ac.uk

Street: Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh,
Ashworth Lab., room G.61A
City: Charlotte Auerbach Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh
Post code: EH9 3FL

Biography

Background

1968 PhD (Genetics) Cambridge University

1968 - 69 MRC Junior Research Fellow, Cambridge University

1969-71 Postdoctoral fellow, University of Chicago

1971-74 Honorary Research Fellow, Liverpool University

1974-84 Temporary Lecturer, University of Sussex

1977-78 Visiting Scientist, NIEHS (NIH) North Carolina

1984-88 Research Associate, University of Chicago

1988-92 Assistant Professor, University of Chicago

1992-1997 Professor, University of Chicago

1997-2002 NERC Senior Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh

1997-present Professorial Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh

2005 Fellow of the Royal Society

Teaching & PhD supervision

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Research

Research summary

Evolutionary and population genetics, particularly topics in the general area of the evolution of breeding systems and sex chromosomes.

Current research interests

The genetics and evolution of the Y chromosome in the guppy (a fish, Poecilia reticulata).

Past research interests

Self-incompatibility, the evolution of Y-linked genes in the white campion, Silene latifolia.

Research activities

Why are sex-determining genes located within non-recombining genome regions? 11 Nov 2020
Botany 2020 31 Jul 2020
Invited lecturer at graduate student retreat, University of Zürich Jun 2019
Genetics (Journal) 2013 to 2015
Edinburgh International Science Festival 2010
Conférence Universitaire de Suisse Occidentale 2009
Munich Graduate School for Evolution, Ecology, and Systematics 2008
Ecole Normale Superieure 2008 to 2010
BBSRC summer school on Molecular Evolution and Diversity 2004 to 2012
BMC Genetics (Journal) 2000
Evolution (Journal) 2000
Current Biology (Journal) 2000
PLoS.Genet. (Journal) 2000
PLoS Biology (Journal) 2000
Nature (Journal) 2000
Genetics (Journal) 1986

View all 16 activities on Research Explorer

Projects

Current project grants

ERC Advanced grant: Evolutionary genetics of guppy sex chromosomes (695225)

Past project grants

NOT LISTED

Publications

PromethION sequencing and assembly of the genome of Micropoecilia picta, a fish with a highly Degenerated Y chromosome 19 Jul 2021 In: Genome Biology and Evolution
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evab171
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press)
How did the guppy Y chromosome evolve? (34 pages) 8 Jul 2021 In: PLoS Genetics
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press)
The puzzling guppy Y chromosome 4 May 2021 In: Nature Reviews Genetics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-021-00369-1
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Published)
Chromosome‐scale assembly of the genome of Salix dunnii reveals a male‐heterogametic sex determination system on chromosome 7 (45 pages) 20 Feb 2021 In: Molecular Ecology Resources
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13362
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
When and how do sex-linked regions become sex chromosomes? (12 pages) 16 Feb 2021 In: Evolution, vol. 75, pp. 569-581
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14196
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Special issue (E-pub ahead of print)
Evidences for a role of two Y-specific genes in sex determination in Populus deltoides 18 Nov 2020 In: Nature Communications, vol. 11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19559-2
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Improved reference genome uncovers novel sex-linked regions in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) (17 pages) 1 Oct 2020 In: Genome Biology and Evolution, vol. 12, pp. 1789-1805
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaa187
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Locating the sex determining region of linkage group 12 of guppy (Poecilia reticulata) (11 pages) 1 Oct 2020 In: G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics, vol. 10, pp. 3639–3649
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.120.401573
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
The timing of genetic degeneration of sex chromosomes 12 Jun 2020 In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press)
Using GC content to compare recombination patterns on the sex chromosomes and autosomes of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, and its close outgroup species 2020 In: Molecular Biology and Evolution
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa187
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Young sex chromosomes in plants and animals 21 Jun 2019 In: New Phytologist, vol. 224
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16002
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (E-pub ahead of print)
Reply to Wright et al.: How to explain the absence of extensive Y-specific regions in the guppy sex chromosomes (2 pages) 18 Jun 2019 In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116, pp. 12609-12610
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment/debate (Published)
Arms races with mitochondrial genome soft sweeps in a gynodioecious plant, Plantago lanceolata 17 May 2019 In: Molecular Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15121
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Exaggerated heterochiasmy in a fish with sex-linked male coloration polymorphisms (8 pages) 2 Apr 2019 In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116, pp. 6924–6931
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818486116
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Evolution of sex determination and heterogamety changes in section Otites of the genus Silene 31 Jan 2019 In: Scientific Reports, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37412-x
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
The importance of the Neutral Theory in 1968 and 50 years on: a response to Kern and Hahn 2018 (4 pages) 1 Jan 2019 In: Evolution, vol. 73, pp. 111-114
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13650
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Comment/debate (Published)
Mogens Westergaard's Contributions to Understanding Sex Chromosomes (7 pages) 6 Dec 2018 In: Genetics, vol. 210, pp. 1143-1149
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.118.301128
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Published)
Has adaptation occurred in males and females since separate sexes evolved in the plant Silene latifolia? (8 pages) 25 Jul 2018 In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, vol. 285
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2824
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
The guppy sex chromosome system and the sexually antagonistic polymorphism hypothesis for y chromosome recombination suppression (18 pages) 19 May 2018 In: Genes, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9050264
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (Published)
Neutral variation in the context of selection (3 pages) 4 Apr 2018 In: Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 35, pp. 1359-1361
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy062
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (E-pub ahead of print)

View all 99 publications on Research Explorer

Conferences

Invited speaker

Invited speaker in Crafoord Prize symposium, Stockholm, May 2015

Invited speaker in symposium on sex chromosomes, annual SMBE Conference, Vienna 2015

Invited speaker in “BarrettFest” symposium honouring SCH Barrett, University of Toronto, September 2018

Participant

Population Genetics Group annual meeting (every year)

This article was published on 21 Oct, 2021