Comparative Genomics / Molecular Evolution of of Translation
Dave Ardell, Linnaeus Centre for Bioinformatics

Projects involve the use of bioinformatics (Hidden Markov and other probablilistic sequence models, expression analysis, statistical model selection) and molecular evolution (comparative genomics, phylogenetic inference, statistical hypothesis testing) to study robustness and plasticity in the translation, transcription and splicing mechanisms that act on prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. Key interests in the lab include evolution of operons and genes for tRNAs and other components of the translational apparatus, prediction and evolution of prokaryotic promoters and regulatory elements and coadaptation between genomes and the transcriptional and translational machinery. One special project available for the interested Ph.D. student is a bioinformatic analysis of tRNA identity determinants (the recognition rules between tRNAs and the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases) and how they evolve and co-evolve in the three domains of eukarya, archaea and bacteria.