Lecturer in Animal Evolutionary Biology
Biological and Environmental Sciences Â鶹´«Ã½AV
I am an evolutionary biologist with broad interests in the interaction between genome structure and the processes of adaptation, diversification and speciation in non-model eukaryotes. I work with whole-genome sequence data in conjunction with population genomic and comparative phylogenetic methods to provide insights into how these mechanisms contribute to the evolutionary process. I am particularly interested in the interaction between ecology, life-history and genome structure, the impact of extraordinary molecular mechanisms such as horizontal gene transfer, and the insights to be gained from the genomic peculiarities of non-model organisms.
Bio
I have a hat-trick of degrees from the University of Edinburgh, with a BSc (Hons) in Evolutionary Biology (2008), then an MSc in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis (2010) before getting my PhD in 2015. I then completed 2 postdocs with Prof Tim Barraclough and Dr Chris Wilson at Imperial College London (and later Oxford) working on a group of enigmatic and unusual animals called bdelloid rotifers, before moving to Â鶹´«Ã½AV in early 2024. Happily, I am still scratching my head trying to understand bdelloid genomes.
Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics; Horizontal Gene Transfer; Adaptation; Speciation; Phylogenetics
Article
Peck LD, Llewellyn T, Bennetot B, O¡¯Donnell S, Nowell RW, Ryan MJ, Flood J, Rodr¨ªguez de la Vega RC, Ropars J, Giraud T, Spanu PD & Barraclough TG (2024) Horizontal transfers between fungal Fusarium species contributed to successive outbreaks of coffee wilt disease. PLOS Biology, 22 (12), Art. No.: e3002480. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002480
Article
Bdelloid rotifers deploy horizontally acquired biosynthetic genes against a fungal pathogen
Nowell RW, Rodriguez F, Hecox-Lea BJ, Mark Welch DB, Arkhipova IR, Barraclough TG & Wilson CG (2024) Bdelloid rotifers deploy horizontally acquired biosynthetic genes against a fungal pathogen. Nature Communications, 15, Art. No.: 5787. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49919-1
Article
Recombination in bdelloid rotifer genomes: asexuality, transfer and stress
Wilson CG, Pieszko T, Nowell RW & Barraclough TG (2024) Recombination in bdelloid rotifer genomes: asexuality, transfer and stress. Trends in Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2024.02.001
Article
Whole-genome analyses converge to support the Hemirotifera hypothesis within Syndermata (Gnathifera)
Vasilikopoulos A, Herlyn H, Fontaneto D, Wilson CG, Nowell RW, Flot J, Barraclough TG & Van Doninck K (2024) Whole-genome analyses converge to support the Hemirotifera hypothesis within Syndermata (Gnathifera). Hydrobiologia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05451-9
Article
Llewellyn T, Nowell RW, Aptroot A, Temina M, Prescott TAK, Barraclough TG & Gaya E (2023) Metagenomics Shines Light on the Evolution of ¡°Sunscreen¡± Pigment Metabolism in theTeloschistales(Lichen-Forming Ascomycota). Genome Biology and Evolution, 15 (2). https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad002
Article
Peck LD, Nowell RW, Flood J, Ryan MJ & Barraclough TG (2021) Historical genomics reveals the evolutionary mechanisms behind multiple outbreaks of the host-specific coffee wilt pathogen Fusarium xylarioides. BMC Genomics, 22 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-021-07700-4
Article
Evolutionary dynamics of transposable elements in bdelloid rotifers
Nowell RW, Wilson CG, Almeida P, Schiffer PH, Fontaneto D, Becks L, Rodriguez F, Arkhipova IR & Barraclough TG (2021) Evolutionary dynamics of transposable elements in bdelloid rotifers. eLife, 10, Art. No.: e63194. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.63194
Article
Genomic Features of Parthenogenetic Animals
Jaron KS, Bast J, Nowell RW, Ranallo-Benavidez TR, Robinson-Rechavi M & Schwander T (2021) Genomic Features of Parthenogenetic Animals. Journal of Heredity, 112 (1), pp. 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esaa031
Article
Pathak A, Nowell RW, Wilson CG, Ryan MJ & Barraclough TG (2020) Comparative genomics of Alexander Fleming¡¯s original Penicillium isolate (IMI 15378) reveals sequence divergence of penicillin synthesis genes. Scientific Reports, 10, Art. No.: 15705. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72584-5
Article
Bacterial adaptation is constrained in complex communities
Scheuerl T, Hopkins M, Nowell RW, Rivett DW, Barraclough TG & Bell T (2020) Bacterial adaptation is constrained in complex communities. Nature Communications, 11, Art. No.: 754. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14570-z
Book Chapter
Horizontal Gene Transfer in Metazoa: Examples and Methods
Yoshida Y, Nowell RW, Arakawa K & Blaxter M (2019) Horizontal Gene Transfer in Metazoa: Examples and Methods. In: Villa TG & Vinas M (eds.) Horizontal Gene Transfer: Breaking Borders Between Living Kingdoms. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 203-226. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21862-1_7
Article
Horswill C, Jackson JA, Medeiros R, Nowell RW, Trathan PN & O'Connell TC (2018) Minimising the limitations of using dietary analysis to assess foodweb changes by combining multiple techniques. Ecological Indicators, 94, pp. 218-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.06.035
Article
Wilson CG, Nowell RW & Barraclough TG (2018) Cross-Contamination Explains ¡°Inter and Intraspecific Horizontal Genetic Transfers¡± between Asexual Bdelloid Rotifers. Current Biology, 28 (15), pp. 2436-2444.e14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.070
Article
Supergene Evolution Triggered by the Introgression of a Chromosomal Inversion
Jay P, Whibley A, Fr¨¦zal L, Rodr¨ªguez de Cara M?, Nowell RW, Mallet J, Dasmahapatra KK & Joron M (2018) Supergene Evolution Triggered by the Introgression of a Chromosomal Inversion. Current Biology, 28 (11), pp. 1839-1845.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.072
Article
Comparative genomics of bdelloid rotifers: Insights from desiccating and nondesiccating species
Nowell RW, Almeida P, Wilson CG, Smith TP, Fontaneto D, Crisp A, Micklem G, Tunnacliffe A, Boschetti C & Barraclough TG (2018) Comparative genomics of bdelloid rotifers: Insights from desiccating and nondesiccating species. PLOS Biology, 16 (4), Art. No.: e2004830. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2004830
Article
A high-coverage draft genome of the mycalesine butterfly Bicyclus anynana
Nowell RW, Elsworth B, Oostra V, Zwaan BJ, Wheat CW, Saastamoinen M, Saccheri IJ, van¡¯t Hof AE, Wasik BR, Connahs H, Aslam ML, Kumar S, Challis RJ, Monteiro A, Brakefield PM & Blaxter M (2017) A high-coverage draft genome of the mycalesine butterfly Bicyclus anynana. GigaScience, 6 (7), Art. No.: gix035. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/gix035
Article
Nowell RW, Laue BE, Sharp PM & Green S (2016) Comparative genomics reveals genes significantly associated with woody hosts in the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Molecular Plant Pathology, 17 (9), pp. 1409-1424. https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12423
Article
The Extent of Genome Flux and Its Role in the Differentiation of Bacterial Lineages
Nowell RW, Green S, Laue BE & Sharp PM (2014) The Extent of Genome Flux and Its Role in the Differentiation of Bacterial Lineages. Genome Biology and Evolution, 6 (6), pp. 1514-1529. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evu123
Article
Ancestral polymorphisms in Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda
NOWELL RW, CHARLESWORTH B & HADDRILL PR (2011) Ancestral polymorphisms in Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda. Genetics Research, 93 (4), pp. 255-263. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0016672311000206