Carrie

Carrie Whittle

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Carrie Whittle

Associate


Education:

Ph.D., Genetics. Dalhousie University. Halifax NS, Canada.

Research Interests:

Carrie’s research focuses on topics in comparative genomics, molecular evolution and population genetics of eukaryotic model systems. Central themes to her research include the role of male and female tissues in genome sequence evolution, and gene-level changes in young sex chromosomes. Most recently, her studies focused on the evolution of genes located on fungal sex chromosomes in the models Neurospora (Uppsala University) and Microbotryum (Oxford University). Prior to her research in fungi, Carrie was involved in research of male/female genes in hermaphrodite plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana; the research showed sex-specific differences in mutation rates, selective pressures, and codon usage. Her interests also include topics in transcriptome evolution, epigenetic adaptation to environmental conditions, and evolution of expression in large gene families. In the Extavour lab, Carrie is studying the evolutionary dynamics of genes linked to various reproductive traits in multiple metazoan models.

Publications while at Extavour Lab:

Gene protein sequence evolution can predict the rapid divergence of ovariole numbers in Drosophila. C.A. Whittle, C. G. Extavour Genome Biology and Evolution, in press (2024). [PubMed]
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Evidence of multifaceted functions of codon usage in translation within the model beetle Tribolium castaneum. Whittle, C.A., Kulkarni, A. and Extavour, C.G.* DNA Research, 26(6): 473-484 (2019). [PubMed]
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Adaptation of codon and amino acid use for translational functions in highly expressed cricket genes. Whittle, C.A., Kulkarni, A., Chung, N. and Extavour, C.G. BMC Genomics, 22(1):234 (2021). [PubMed]
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Evolutionary dynamics of sex-biased genes expressed in cricket brains and gonads. Whittle, C.A., Kulkarni, A. and Extavour, C.G. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 34(8):1188-1211 (2021). [PubMed]
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Contrasting patterns of molecular evolution in metazoan germ line genes. Whittle, C.A. and Extavour, C.G.* BMC Evolutionary Biology, 19(1):53 (2019). [PubMed]
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Absence of a faster-X effect in beetles (Tribolium, Coleoptera). Whittle, C.A., Kulkarni, A. and Extavour, C.G.* G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 10(3):1125-1136 (2020). [PubMed]
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Selection shapes turnover and magnitude of sex-biased expression in Drosophila gonads. Whittle, C.A. and Extavour, C.G.* BMC Evolutionary Biology, 19(1):60 (2019). [PubMed]
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Expression-linked patterns of codon usage, amino acid frequency and protein length in the basally branching arthropod Parasteatoda tepidariorum. Whittle, C.A. and Extavour, C.G. Genome Biology and Evolution, 8(9) 2722-36 (2016). [PubMed]
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Refuting the hypothesis that the acquisition of germ plasm accelerates animal evolution. Whittle, C.A. and Extavour, C.G. Nature Communications, 7, 12637 (2016). [PubMed]
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Codon and amino acid usage are shaped by selection across divergent model organisms of the Pancrustacea. Whittle, C.A. and Extavour, C.G. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 5(11) 2307-2321 (2015). [PubMed]
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Other Publications:

Whittle CA, Votintseva A, Ridout K, Filatov DA. 2015. Recent and massive expansion of the mating-type specific region in the fungus Microbotryum. Genetics 199: 809-16

Sun Y, Whittle CA, Corcoran P, Johannesson H. 2015. Intron evolution in Neurospora: the role of mutational bias and selection. Genome Research 25: 100-10

Whittle CA, Sun Y, Johannesson H. 2014. Dynamics of transcriptome evolution in the model eukaryote Neurospora. J. Evol. Biol. 27: 1125-1135

Whittle CA, Johannesson H. 2013. Evolutionary dynamics of sex-biased genes in a hermaphrodite fungus. Mol. Biol. Evol.30: 2435-46.

Whittle CA, Johannesson H. 2012. Neurospora as a model to empirically test central hypotheses in eukaryotic genome evolution: Why this fungal genus offers promising opportunities. BioEssays 34: 934-7.

Whittle CA, Sun Y, Johannesson H. 2012. Genome-wide selection on codon usage at the population level in the fungal model organism Neurospora crassa. Mol. Biol. Evol. 29: 1975-86.

Sun Y, Corcoran P, Menkis A, Whittle CA, Anderson S, Johannesson H. 2012. Large-scale introgression shapes the evolution of the filamentous ascomycete Neurospora tetrasperma. PLoS Genet. 8: e1002820.

Whittle CA, Johannesson H. 2011. Evidence of the accumulation of allele-specific non-synonymous substitutions in the young region of recombination suppression within the mating-type chromosomes of Neurospora tetrasperma. Heredity 107: 305-314

Whittle CA, Sun Y, Johannesson H. 2011. Evolution of synonymous codon usage in Neurospora tetrasperma and Neurospora discreta. Genome Biol. Evol. 3: 332-343

Whittle CA, Sun Y, Johannesson H. 2011. Degeneration in codon usage within the region of suppressed recombination in the mating type chromosomes of Neurospora tetrasperma. Eukaryot. Cell 10: 594-603.

Whittle CA, Nygren K, Johannesson H. 2011. Consequences of reproductive mode on genome evolution in fungi. Fungal Genet. Biol. 48: 661-667

Whittle CA. Johannesson H. 2011. Evolution of mating-type loci and mating-type chromosomes in model species of filamentous ascomycetes. In J. Wostemeyer and S.Poeggeler (eds.), The Mycota XIV, Evolution of Fungi and Fungal-like Organisms, Vol. XIV. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg. (Book Chapter)