Janis Antonovics
( Email - Website )
Lewis and Clark Professor
Department of Biology
PO Box 400328
Gilmer Hall, 051
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4328
Phone:434-243-5076
Fax:434-982-5626
Education and Experiences:
Cambridge University: B.A., 1963;
University College of North Wales: Ph.D., 1966;
Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Duke University: 1970-1998;
Lecturer, Assistant Lecturer, University of Stirling: 1967-1970.
Interests:
My research is centered on the role of pathogens in the evolution and ecology of natural populations. In particular, my work is focused on the biology of sexually transmitted diseases, the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of host shifts, and the nature of host-pathogen interactions at population margins. My empirical work largely focuses on anther-smut disease (caused by the fungus Microbotryum violaceum) of members of the Caryophyllaceae, especially Silene alba and Silene vulgaris). The disease is analogous to a venereal disease in animals, but with the advantages of being very tractable experimentally and easily studied in natural populations. Currently we are studying the long-term metapopulation dynamics of the disease, its recent emergence on a new host in the US, and its global distribution. Our lab is also investigating the remarkable level of genomic variation seen in this the pathogen. My collaborations include studies on the interaction of infectious diseases with animal social and sexual systems, the spatial dynamics of marginal populations, and estimating dispersal and dormancy parameters from long term metapopulations studies.
Selected Projects:
Dissertation Research: Ecological & Evolutionary Determinants of Disease Distribution
Anther-smut as a Disease Model - Traversing Disciplines
This project will produce a book highlighting the past twenty-five years of NSF funded research of one group of scientists on a model host-pathogen system. This research has led to discoveries that ...
Disease on New Hosts-Microbotryum as a Model System
Host shifts of pathogens from animal species have lead to an increasing number of infectious diseases in humans. Studies of host shifts have been conducted primarily through the historical approach ...
Experimental & Investigative Laboratory Courses in Evolutionary Biology
Over the past twenty years, evolutionary biology has developed in to a vibrant, investigative science with a potent relevance to societal issues such as origins of infectious disease and biotechnology. ...
Genetic & Evolutionary Consequences of Intra-Tetrad Selfing in the Anther-Smut Fungus
Populations of the anther-smut pathogen contain high frequencies of individuals that produce gametes of only one mating type. even though both mating types are required for conjugation and infection. ...
Intestinal Parasites, Acorn Masts, and Population Dynamics of Peromyscus
Infectious disease may substantially impact the health and stability of natural animal populations. White-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and deer mouse (P. maniculatus) populations have been found ...
The Effects of Sex-Differential Parasitism
Differential effects of parasitism on males and females have been noted in a wide range of species, especially with regard to contrasting levels of disease prevalence and expression between the two ...
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