Dr. Sherlock's current research is in:
- Evolution and the Adaptive Landscape
When yeast are evolved under various selective pressures in a chemostat, mutations that arise and provide an adaptive advantage will expand within the population. We are using high throughput sequencing to determine the identity of such mutations, as well as to understand the dynamics of the mutations within the populations, and the interactions between the mutations (such as epistasis).
- Genome Annotation by Transcriptome Sequencing
The set of genes in a sequenced genome has typically been defined using various prediction criteria (such as ORFs capable of encoding a protein > 100 amino acids), coupled with experimental data, such as transposon mutagenesis and EST sequencing. The availability of high throughput sequencing now allows full transcriptome sequencing to better annotate the transcribed regions of the genome, and we are applying this to various yeasts.
Dr. Sherlock's laboratory is a yeast genomics lab that uses both experimental and computational approaches to characterize the yeast genome and uses yeast as a model system to study evolution. They are using both long- and short-term continuous culture (chemostat) experiments in conjunction with high throughput sequencing to understand the adaptive changes that occur in yeast in response to selective pressures as the yeast evolve in vitro. They are also using ultra-highthroughput sequencing to identify novel transcripts encoded by the C. albicans genome.
In addition, the Sherlock lab is also involved in several database projects, running the Candida Genome Database, the Aspergillus Genome Database and The Tuberculosis Database.
