Wade R. Roberts
I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Alverson Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas. I previously completed my Ph.D. in Molecular Plant Sciences with Eric Roalson at Washington State University.
Contact me: wade.r.roberts at gmail (dot) com
Research
I am fascinated by the diversity and complexity of life. My research focuses on the evolutionary processes that give rise to species diversity and uses a combination of phylogenomics and comparative genomics. My primary interest lies in exploring and understanding the interaction between adaptation and genomic complexity. I have used both plant and diatom systems to explore these questions.
For my doctoral work, I studied the transcriptomics of flower diversification in the genus Achimenes (Gesneriaceae), using both phylogenomics and comparative gene expression analyses. My postdoctoral research focuses on the phylogenomics and evolutionary genomics of the centric diatom order Thalassiosirales, an emerging model diatom lineage that spans the marine-freshwater salinity gradient and exhibits substantial genome size variation.
Publications
Bryłka K., Pinseel E, Roberts W.R., Ruck E.C., Conley D.J., Alverson A.J. 2023. Gene duplication, shifting selection, and dosage balance of silicon transporter proteins in marine and freshwater diatoms. In Press. Genome Biology and Evolution [doi][pdf]
Roberts W.R., Ruck E.C., Downey K.M., Pinseel E., Alverson A.J. 2023. Resolving marine-freshwater transitions by diatoms through a fog of gene tree discordance. Systematic Biology [doi][pdf]
Çiftçi O., Alverson A.J., van Bodegom P., Roberts W.R., Mertens A., van de Vijver B., Trobajo R., Mann D., Pirovano W., van Eijk I., Gravendeel B. 2022. Phylotranscriptomics reveals the reticulate evolutionary history of a widespread diatom species complex. Journal of Phycology [doi][pdf]
Onyshchenko A, Roberts W.R., Ruck E.C., Lewis J.A., Alverson A.J. 2021. The genome of a nonphotosynthetic diatom provides insights into the metabolic shift to heterotrophy and constraints on the loss of photosynthesis. New Phytologist [doi][pdf] [CoGe genome browser]
Gargas C.B., Roberts W.R., Alverson A.J. 2020. Genome sequences of bacteria associated with the diatom Cyclotella cryptica strain CCMP332. Microbiology Resource Announcements [doi][pdf]
Roberts W.R., Downey K.M., Ruck E.C., Traller J.C., Alverson A.J. 2020. Improved reference genome for Cyclotella cryptica CCMP332, a model for cell wall morphogenesis, salinity adaptation, and lipid production in diatoms (Bacillariophyta). G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics [doi][pdf] [CoGe genome browser]
Roberts W.R., Roalson E.H. 2020. Co-expression clustering across flower development identifies modules for diverse floral forms in Achimenes (Gesneriaceaea). PeerJ [doi][pdf]
Kleinkopf J.A., Roberts W.R., Wagner W.L, Roalson E.H. 2019. Diversification of Hawaiian Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) under the influence of incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization. Journal of Systematics and Evolution [doi][pdf]
Roberts W.R., Roalson E.H. 2018. Phylogenomic analyses reveal extensive gene flow within the magic flowers (Achimenes). American Journal of Botany [doi] [cover image][pdf]
Roberts W.R., Roalson E.H. 2017. Comparative transcriptome analyses of flower development in four species of Achimenes (Gesneriaceae). BMC Genomics [doi] [pdf]
Roalson E.H., Roberts W.R. 2016. Distinct processes drive diversification in different clades of Gesneriaceae. Systematic Biology [doi] [cover image] [pdf]