Schärer Group
Evolutionary Biology
Zoological Institute
University of Basel
Vesalgasse 1
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland

Axel Wiberg

email: raw.wiberg(at)unibas.ch

see also GoogleScholar, ResearchGate, GitHub and my Personal Website

I am interested in the processes of sexual selection and sexual conflict as drivers of evolutionary change. I apply the tools of comparative and population genomics to understand the changes in allele frequencies and gene expression patterns that give rise to new or exaggerated traits and how they diversify in the context of sexual selection and conflict.

Current research

Currently my research focusses on the molecular evolution of reproduction-related genes (genes expressed in the ovaries, testes and prostate glands) in the genus Macrostomum. I am using comparative methods to understand sequence evolution as well as gene gain and loss across several species of this genus. Additionally, I am currently assembling genomes for additional species in this clade (M. hystrix and M. cliftonensis) to improve and expand the available genetic resources.

Past research

My Ph.D. research focused on identifying population genomic signatures of selection in a variety of situations and systems. A large component of my thesis focused on an experimental evolution system in D. pseudoobscura adapting to either high polyandry or enforced monogamy environments. These environments were taken to increase and decrease (respectively) the effects of sexual selection and sexual conflict. I developed novel methods to identify genomic marker alleles that had consistently changed in frequency between treatments across several replicated experiments. Several distinct regions showed SNPs with a consistent allele frequency difference between E and M lines across replicates. These regions contained genes involved in e.g. the cocktail of seminal fluid proteins passed along with the male ejaculate during mating. This work is in press at Evolution Letters.

For my M.Sc. thesis I assessed the signal of recent selection at long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) loci in the Mouse genome. lncRNAs with a known function showed signatures of recent selection comparable to protein coding genes while the majority of newly identified lncRNAs did not show such a signal. This suggests that a) the characteristic population genetic signals of reduced diversity at functional loci are a good indicator of function, and b) that the majority of novel lncRNA loci show no evidence of being functional loci. This work was published in Genome Biology and Evolution.

For my B.Sc. thesis I studied sexual dimorphism in dance flies (Diptera: Empididae). Species vary in the levels of female ornamentation and in exaggerated male eye structures. Sexual conflict over matings and nuptial gift resource allocation as well as sexually antagonistic coevolution offer compelling explanations for patterns of covariation in male eye exaggerations and female ornamentation seen across taxa in this group of flies.

Curriculum vitae

2017-Present Post-doc, Schärer group, University of Basel
2013-2017 Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology and Genomics, University of St Andrews, Scotland, (Supervised by Professor Mike Ritchie)
2012-2013 M.Sc. in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
2008-2012 B.Sc. in Animal Biology, University of Stirling, Scotland
1988 Born, in Finland

Publications

[in press]

R. Axel W. Wiberg, Paris Veltsos, Rhonda R. Snook & Michael G. Ritchie. Experimental evolution confirms signatures of sexual selection in genomic divergence. Evolution Letters. preprint at: bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.07.285650

Nicolas Dussex, Verena E. Kutschera, R. Axel W. Wiberg, Darren Parker, Gavin R. Hunt, Russell D. Gray, Kim Rutherford, Hideaki Abe, Rob Fleischer, Christian Rutz, Michael G. Ritchie, Jochen B.W. Wolf, Neil J. Gemmell. 2021. A genome-wide investigation of adaptations related to tool use behaviour in New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows. Molecular Ecology. 30: 973-986. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15775

2020

Rosalind L. Murray, Elizabeth J. Herridge, Rob W. Ness, R. Axel W. Wiberg & Luc F. Bussiere. (2020). Competition for access to mates predicts female-specific ornamentation and male investment in relative testis size. Evolution. 74:1741-1754.

Martin Kapun, Maite G. Barron, Fabian Staubach, Darren J. Obbard, R. Axel W. Wiberg, Jorge Vieira, Clement Goubert, Omar Rota-Stabelli, Maaria Kankare, Maria Bogaerts-Marquez, Annabelle Haudry, Lena Waidele, Iryna Kozeretska, Elena G. Pasyukova, Volker Loeschcke, Marta Pascual, Cristina P. Vieira, Svitlana Serga, Catherine Montchamp-Moreau, Jessica Abbott, Patricia Gibert, Damiano Porcelli, Nico Posnien, Alejandro Sanchez-Gracia, Sonja Grath, Elio Sucena, Alan O. Bergland, Maria Pilar Garcia Guerreiro, Banu Sebnem Onder, Eliza Argyridou, Lain Guio, Mads, Fristrup Schou, Bart Deplancke, Cristina Vieira, Michael G. Ritchie, Bas J. Zwaan, Eran Tauber, Dorcas J. Orengo, Eva Puerma, Montserrat Aguade, Paul S. Schmidt, John Parsch, Andrea J. Betancourt, Thomas Flatt & Josefa Gonzalez. (2020). Genomic analysis of European Drosophila melanogaster populations reveals longitudinal structure, continent-wide selection, and previously unknown DNA viruses. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 37: 2661-2678.

Jeremias N. Brand, R. Axel W. Wiberg, Robert Pjeta, Philip Bertemes, Christian Beisel, Peter Ladurner & Lukas Schärer. (2020). RNA-Seq of three free-living flatworm species suggests rapid evolution of reproduction-related genes. BMC Genomics 21: 462.

2019

Verena E. Kutschera, Jelmer W. Poelstra, Nicolas Dussex, Neil J. Gemmell, Gavin R. Hunt, Michael G. Ritchie, Christian Rutz, R. Axel W. Wiberg & Jochen B. W. Wolf. (2019). Purifying selection in corvids is less efficient on islands. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 37: 469-474.

Hannele Kauranen, Johanna Kinnunen, Anna-Lotta Hiillos, Pekka Lankinen, David Hopkins, R. Axel W. Wiberg, Michael G. Ritchie & Anneli Hoikkala. (2019). Selection for reproduction under short photoperiods changes diapause-associated traits and induces widespread genomic divergence. Journal of Experimental Biology 222: jeb205831.

2018
Darren J. Parker, R. Axel W. Wiberg, Urmi Trivedi, Venera I. Tyukmaeva, Karim Gharbi, Roger K. Butlin, Anneli Hoikkala, Maaria Kankare & Michael G.Ritchie. (2018). Inter- and intra-specific genomic divergence in Drosophila montana shows evidence for cold adaptation. Genome Biology and Evolution. 10: 2086-2101.

2017

R. Axel W. Wiberg, Michael B. Morrisey, Oscar E. Gaggiotti, Michael G. Ritchie. (2017). Identifying consistent allele frequency differences in studies of stratified populations. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 8: 1899-1909.

2016

R. Axel W. Wiberg, Andrew R. Scobie, Stuart W. A'Hara, Richard A. Ennos, Joan E. Cottrell (2016). The genetic consequences of long term habitat fragmentation on a self-incompatible clonal plant, Linnaea borealis L. Biological Conservation 201:405-413.

2015

Christopher B. Cunningham, Lexiang Ji, R. Axel W. Wiberg, Jennifer Shelton, Elizabeth C. McKinney , Darren J. Parker, Richard B. Meagher, Kyle M. Benowitz, Eileen M. Roy-Zokan, Michael G. Ritchie, Susan J. Brown, Robert J. Schmitz, Allen J. Moore. (2015). The genome and methylome of a beetle with complex social behavior, Nicrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Genome Biology and Evolution 7:3383-3396.

R. Axel W. Wiberg, Daniel L. Halligan, Rob W. Ness, Anamaria Necsulea, Henrik Kaessmann, Peter D. Keightley. (2015). Assessing recent selection and functionality at long non-coding RNA loci in the mouse genome. Genome Biology and Evolution 7:2432-2444.