Nicole R Hales

• Quantitative Biology, PhD
• Research Associate at University of North Texas Health Science Center

Hybrid zones provide valuable opportunities to understand the genomic mechanisms that promote speciation by providing insight into factors involved in intermediate stages of speciation. Here we investigate introgression in a hybrid zone between two rattlesnake species (Crotalus viridis and C. oreganus concolor) that have undergone historical allopa...

Background Snakes exhibit extreme intestinal regeneration following months-long fasts that involves unparalleled increases in metabolism, function, and tissue growth, but the specific molecular control of this process is unknown. Understanding the mechanisms that coordinate these regenerative phenotypes provides valuable opportunities to understand...

Schistosomiasis persists in Asian regions despite aggressive elimination measures. To identify factors enabling continued parasite transmission, we performed reduced representation genome sequencing on Schistosoma japonicum miracidia collected across multiple years from transmission hotspots in Sichuan, China. We discovered strong geographic struct...

Genomic approaches hold great promise for resolving unanswered questions about transmission patterns and responses to control efforts for schistosomiasis and other neglected tropical diseases. However, the cost of generating genomic data and the challenges associated with obtaining sufficient DNA from individual schistosome larvae (miracidia) from...

Schistosomiasis persists in some Asian regions despite targeted end-game elimination measures. To determine the causes of this persistence, we performed reduced representation genome sequencing on Schistosoma japonicum miracidia collected across multiple years from transmission hotspots in Sichuan, China. We discovered strong geographic structure,...

Here we use a chromosome-level genome assembly of a prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis), together with Hi-C, RNA-seq, and whole-genome resequencing data, to study key features of genome biology and evolution in reptiles. We identify the rattlesnake Z Chromosome, including the recombining pseudoautosomal region, and find evidence for partial dosa...

Invasive species provide powerful in situ experimental systems for studying evolution in response to selective pressures in novel habitats. While research has shown that phenotypic evolution can occur rapidly in nature, few examples exist of genome‐wide adaptation on short ‘ecological’ timescales. Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) have be...

Colubridae represents the most phenotypically diverse and speciose family of snakes, yet no well-assembled and annotated genome exists for this lineage. Here, we report and analyze the genome of the garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, a colubrid snake that is an important model species for research in evolutionary biology, physiology, genomics, beha...

The Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus) inhabits deserts and arid grasslands of the western United States and Mexico. Despite considerable interest in its highly toxic venom and the recognition of two subspecies, no molecular studies have characterized range-wide genetic diversity and population structure or tested species limits within C. scu...

Research has shown that a change in environmental conditions can alter the expression of traits during development (i.e., 'within-generation phenotypic plasticity') as well as induce heritable phenotypic responses that persist for multiple generations (i.e., 'transgenerational plasticity'). It has long been assumed that shifts in gene expression ar...