Prof M Blaxter

Research summary
http://www.nematodes.org

I am interested in the structure and evolution of animal genomes, with a particular focus on the genomes of non-model organisms. In my group, we use high-throughput sequencing technologies to generate genome sequence data for many species (including nematodes, tardigrades, arthropods, fungi and bacteria), and analyse these with a variety of bioinformatics tools (including many we have written in house). In particular we are interested in the evolution of operons and trans-splicing in nematodes, the responses of soil invertebrates such as earthworms to heavy metals and pollutants, the origins of gene novelty, the deep phylogeny of animals and the evolution of development in the moulting animals such as tardigrades. We are also developing DNA barcoding techniques to identify meiofauna and other hard-to-identify taxa. We have collaborations with a wide range of colleagues round the world working on beautiful small invertebrates and their evolution.

Mark Blaxter founded and is Director of Genome Science of Edinburgh Genomics (http://genomics.ed.ac.uk) the University's advanced genomics facility.

Current research interests
Genome assembly. Genome evolution. The origins of parasitism in Nematoda. The symbiosis between Wolbachia bacteria and nematode hosts. The genomics of the genus Caenorhabditis.