Education
Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University 2003
B.S. in Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine 1996
Research
Our lab investigates how the ecology of a species shapes patterns of variation at multiple levels (genes, pathways, transcriptomes, genomes, physiology, behavior and life history), how populations adapt to environmental shifts (natural or human created), how genetic architecture can dictate the evolutionary trajectory of populations, the implication of ecological adaptation in the process of speciation and the role of sexual selection and sexual conflict in the evolution of reproductive incompatibilities. Our research revolves around these fundamental aspects of evolutionary biology. We work on a group of cactophilic Drosophila that inhabit the deserts of North America. These Drosophila species are an excellent system to study given that their ecology is well understood and the fact that we can perform many genetic, genomic, manipulative and life history experiments. In addition to utilizing the cactophilic Drosophila system we have ongoing projects on the agrigenomics of the agricultural pests, Drosophila suzukii (spotted wing Drosophila) and Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm).
A bit more specifically, our lab works on: (i) the study of the genetical basis of adaptation; (ii) speciation genetics/genomics and the evolution of post-mating pre-zygotic (PMPZ) reproductive incompatibilities; (iii) the effects of ecological adaptation in behavioral evolution and its consequence on the evolution of reproductive isolation; (iv) genomics of plasticity and transgenerational effects; (v) population/comparative genomics via the sequencing and assembly of genomes of several cactophilic Drosophila species; (vi) examining the effect of different genetic architectures in the evolution; (vii) assessing the genomic basis of the resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin and other pesticides in H. zea and D. suzukii; (viii) using new genome editing techniques, CRISPR-Cas9, to assess the functional consequence of variants in an ecological context; (ix) investigating mechanisms of biological control using D. suzukii.
Courses Taught
ENTO 170C2, Secret of Success: How Insects Conquered the World
EIS/EEB 553, Evolutionary and Functional Genomics
Selected Publications
Benowitz K. M., Coleman, J. M., Allan, C. W. and Matzkin, L. M. (2020). Gene expression in the Drosophila mojavensis brain reveals tissue specific cis-regulatory and compensatory evolution across populations. Genome Biology and Evolution. doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaa145
Jaworski, C. C., Allan, C. W. and Matzkin, L. M. (2020). Chromosome-level hybrid de novo genome assemblies as an attainable option for non-model insects. Molecular Ecology Resources. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.13176
Khallaf, M.A., Auer, T.O., Grabe, V., Depetris-Chauvin, A. Ammagarahalli, B., Zhang, D., Lavista-Llanos, S., Kaftan, F., Weibflog, J., Matzkin L. M., Rollmann, S.M., Lofstedt, C., Svatos, A., Dweck, H.K.M., Sachse, S., Benton, R., Hansson, B.S., and Knaden, M. (2020). A male pheromone promotes incipient isolation through conserved peripheral sensory pathways. Science Advances. 6(25):eaba5279. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba5279
Allan, C. W. and Matzkin, L. M. (2019). Genomic analysis of the four ecologically distinct cactus host populations of Drosophila mojavensis. BMC Genomics. 20(1):732. doi:10.1186/s12864-019-6097-z.
Benowitz, K. M., Coleman, J. M. and Matzkin, L. M. (2019). Assessing the Architecture of Drosophila mojavensis Locomotor Evolution with Bulk Segregant Analysis. G3. 9:1767-1775. doi:10.1534/g3.119.400036
Diaz, F., Allan, C. W. and Matzkin, L. M. (2018). Positive selection drives the evolution of cactophilic Drosophila chemosensory genes following recent divergence shaped by multiple host shifts. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 18:144. doi: 10.1186/s12862-018-1250-x
Bono, J. M., Killian, E. O., Matzkin, L. M. (2015). Connecting genotypes, phenotypes, and fitness: Harnessing the power of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. Molecular Ecology. 24:3810-3822.
Bono, J. M.*, Matzkin, L. M*, Hoang, K., and Brandsmeier, L. (2015). Molecular evolution of genes involved in post-mating pre-zygotic isolation in cactophilic Drosophila. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 28:403-414. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12574 (*Authors contributed equally, co-corresponding authors)
Matzkin, L. M. (2012). Population transcriptomics of cactus host shifts in Drosophila mojavensis. Molecular Ecology. 21:2428-2439.
Bono, J. M.*, Matzkin, L. M.*, Kelleher, E. S., Markow, T. A. (2011). Postmating transcriptional changes in reproductive tracts of con- and heterospecifically-mated Drosophila mojavensis females. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (*Authors contributed equally). 108:7878-7883.
Matzkin, L. M. (2008). The molecular basis of host adaptation in cactophilic Drosophila: Molecular evolution of Glutathione-S-transferase (Gst) in Drosophila mojavensis. Genetics. 178:1073-1083.
Drosophila 12 Genomes Consortium (Matzkin, L. M. co-author). (2007). Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny. Nature. 450:203-218.
Matzkin, L. M., Watts, T. D., Bitler B. G., Machado, C. A. and Markow, T. A. (2006). Functional genomics of cactus host shifts in Drosophila mojavensis. Molecular Ecology. 15:4635-4643.
