Dr Alison Wright
School of Biosciences
Senior Lecturer
a.e.wright@sheffield.ac.uk
Alfred Denny Building
Full contact details
Dr Alison Wright
School of Biosciences
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
School of Biosciences
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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- Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield, UK (2024-present)
- Lecturer, University of Sheffield, UK (2022-2023)
- NERC Independent Research Fellow, University of Sheffield, UK (2017‒2022)
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, University College London, UK (2014‒2017)
- DPhil Zoology, University of Oxford – thesis title ‘Mating system, sex-specific selection and the evolution of the avian sex chromosomes’ (2010‒2014)
- BA Biological Sciences, University of Oxford (2007‒2010)
- Research interests
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Our research is focused on understanding how and why the diversity of life is produced and maintained. In particular, we study the genes responsible for differences between males and females and how they have evolved across organisms. We specialise in the use of state-of-the-art genomic sequencing approaches which we employ across a range of organisms.
Our overarching aim is to understand the genomic and evolutionary processes underlying sex differences and our key research themes include:
- the origins and evolution of sex chromosomes
- genomics of sexual dimorphism
- genome evolution and sexual selection
- evolution and genomics of honest sexual signals
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Recent progress in understanding the genomic architecture of sexual conflict. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 80.
- Detecting signatures of selection on gene expression. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6, 1035-1045. View this article in WRRO
- Constraint and divergence in the evolution of male and female recombination rates in fishes. Evolution, 75(11), 2857-2866.
- Sex-specific selection drives the evolution of alternative splicing in birds. Molecular Biology and Evolution.
- Ecology and allometry predict the evolution of avian developmental durations. Nature Communications, 11. View this article in WRRO
- How to identify sex chromosomes and their turnover. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- Phenotypic sexual dimorphism is associated with genomic signatures of resolved sexual conflict. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- Male-biased gene expression resolves sexual conflict through the evolution of sex-specific genetic architecture. Evolution Letters, 2(2), 52-61. View this article in WRRO
- Convergent recombination suppression suggests role of sexual selection in guppy sex chromosome formation. Nature Communications, 8. View this article in WRRO
- How to make a sex chromosome. Nature Communications, 7. View this article in WRRO
- Sexual selection drives evolution and rapid turnover of male gene expression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(14), 4393-4398.
- Variation in promiscuity and sexual selection drives avian rate of Faster-Z evolution. Molecular Ecology, 24(6), 1218-1235.
- Trade-off Between Selection for Dosage Compensation and Masculinization on the Avian Z Chromosome. Genetics, 192(4), 1433-1445.
All publications
Journal articles
- Recent progress in understanding the genomic architecture of sexual conflict. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 80.
- Fourth report on chicken genes and chromosomes 2022. Cytogenetic and Genome Research.
- Reply to: Existing methods are effective at measuring natural selection on gene expression.. Nat Ecol Evol.
- Detecting signatures of selection on gene expression. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6, 1035-1045. View this article in WRRO
- Gene duplication to the Y chromosome in Trinidadian Guppies. Molecular Ecology.
- Constraint and divergence in the evolution of male and female recombination rates in fishes. Evolution, 75(11), 2857-2866.
- Multi-copy gene family evolution on the avian W chromosome. Journal of Heredity.
- Evolutionary stasis of the pseudoautosomal boundary in strepsirrhine primates. eLife, 9.
- Sex-specific selection drives the evolution of alternative splicing in birds. Molecular Biology and Evolution.
- Guppy Y chromosome integrity maintained by incomplete recombination suppression. Genome Biology and Evolution. View this article in WRRO
- Ecology and allometry predict the evolution of avian developmental durations. Nature Communications, 11. View this article in WRRO
- Sex chromosome evolution : so many exceptions to the rules. Genome Biology and Evolution. View this article in WRRO
- Signature of sexual conflict is actually conflict resolved. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- How to identify sex chromosomes and their turnover. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- Extreme heterogeneity in sex chromosome differentiation and dosage compensation in livebearers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. View this article in WRRO
- On the power to detect rare recombination events. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(26), 12607-12608. View this article in WRRO
- Phenotypic sexual dimorphism is associated with genomic signatures of resolved sexual conflict. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- ngsLD: evaluating linkage disequilibrium using genotype likelihoods.. Bioinformatics. View this article in WRRO
- Shared and Species-Specific Patterns of Nascent Y Chromosome Evolution in Two Guppy Species. Genes (Basel), 9(5). View this article in WRRO
- Male-biased gene expression resolves sexual conflict through the evolution of sex-specific genetic architecture. Evolution Letters, 2(2), 52-61. View this article in WRRO
- Slow evolution of sex-biased genes in the reproductive tissue of the dioecious plant Salix viminalis. Molecular Ecology. View this article in WRRO
- Recent Sex Chromosome Divergence despite Ancient Dioecy in the Willow Salix viminalis. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 34(8), 1991-2001. View this article in WRRO
- Convergent recombination suppression suggests role of sexual selection in guppy sex chromosome formation. Nature Communications, 8. View this article in WRRO
- Sperm competition shapes gene expression and sequence evolution in the ocellated wrasse. Molecular Ecology, 26(2), 505-518. View this article in WRRO
- How to make a sex chromosome. Nature Communications, 7. View this article in WRRO
- Evolution of dosage compensation under sexual selection differs between X and Z chromosomes. Nature Communications, 6(1).
- Conservation of Regional Variation in Sex-Specific Sex Chromosome Regulation. Genetics, 201(2), 587-598. View this article in WRRO
- Positive Selection Underlies Faster-Z Evolution of Gene Expression in Birds. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 32(10), 2646-2656.
- Sexual selection drives evolution and rapid turnover of male gene expression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(14), 4393-4398.
- Variation in promiscuity and sexual selection drives avian rate of Faster-Z evolution. Molecular Ecology, 24(6), 1218-1235.
- INDEPENDENT STRATUM FORMATION ON THE AVIAN SEX CHROMOSOMES REVEALS INTER-CHROMOSOMAL GENE CONVERSION AND PREDOMINANCE OF PURIFYING SELECTION ON THE W CHROMOSOME. Evolution, 68(11), 3281-3295.
- The scope and strength of sex-specific selection in genome evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 26(9), 1841-1853.
- Trade-off Between Selection for Dosage Compensation and Masculinization on the Avian Z Chromosome. Genetics, 192(4), 1433-1445.
- W chromosome expression responds to female-specific selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(21), 8207-8211.
- Battle of the sexes: Conflict over dosage-sensitive genes and the origin of X chromosome inactivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(14), 5144-5145.
- The evolution of gene expression and the transcriptome–phenotype relationship. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 23(2), 222-229. View this article in WRRO
- Altruism and the evolution of resource generalism and specialism. Ecology and Evolution, 2(3), 515-524. View this article in WRRO
- A comparison of methodological approaches to the study of young sex chromosomes: A case study in Poecilia. Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
- Masculinization of Gene Expression Is Associated with Exaggeration of Male Sexual Dimorphism. PLoS Genetics, 9(8), e1003697-e1003697.
Preprints
- Chromosomal fusion drives sex chromosome evolution in treehoppers despite long-term X chromosome conservation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Ecology, phylogeny, and the evolution of developmental duration in birds, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Recent progress in understanding the genomic architecture of sexual conflict. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 80.
- Research group
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Postdocs
- Daniela Palmer (2019-2021) - NSF Postdoctoral Fellow: Evolution and diversity of sex chromosomes
PhD students
- Ben Alston (2023-2027) - NERC ACCE DTP: The evolution and genomics of honest sexual signals
- Peter Price (2020-2024) - NERC ACCE DTP: The evolution and genetics of sexual dimorphism
- Thea Rogers (2017-2021) - NERC ACCE DTP: Evolutionary dynamics of the avian sex chromosomes
- Iulia Darolti (2015-2019) - BBSRC DTP: The evolution of sex chromosomes, and their role in sexually selected traits
- Teaching activities
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- BIS418 - Advanced Biological Analysis
- BIS311 - Topics in Evolutionary Genetics
- BIS315 - Human Evolutionary Genetics
- BIS305 - Human Genomics Lab Course
- BIS223 - Evolutionary Biology
- BIS302 - L3 dissertations BIS312 - L3 projects
- Professional activities and memberships
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Prizes and Awards
- 2023 Philip Leverhulme Prize, Leverhulme Trust
- 2022 European Research Council Starting Grant
- 2021 Balfour Lecture, Genetics Society
- 2019 'Rising Star in Evolution', University of Toronto
- 2017 Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Award, American Society of Naturalists 2016 Certificate of Commendation, ZSL Scientific Awards Committee
- 2015 Presidents’ Award for Outstanding Dissertation Paper in Evolution, Society for the Study of Evolution
- 2012 Walter M. Fitch Prize Finalist, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
External activities
- Associate Editor: Molecular Ecology (2024-present)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Member of Peer Review College, Natural Environment Research Council (2020 - present)
- Associate Editor: Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2019 - present)
Internal activities
- Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Ecology and Evolutionary
- Biology Biological Sciences Athena Swan Action Group
- Organiser of Annual Margaret Savigear Lectures