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Patrick Phillips

  • Professor, Philip H Knight Chair

  • Office: 320 Pacific
  • Phone: 541-346-0916
  • Lab: 317 Pacific
  • Lab phone: 541-346-0519
  • Lab Website

Lab Website

Research Interests

Research in the Phillips Lab focuses on understanding the genotype-phenotype map: how genetic information contained within DNA is translated into the whole organism that interacts in the real world. We use the model nematode C. elegans and its relatives to pursue the molecular genetics of this map for traits such as body size, reproductive success, sexual interactions, longevity, and the behavioral response to temperature and chemicals. We also leverage the central role that C. elegans plays in aging research to study the genetics of aging and to discover new compounds that extend lonevity and healthy aging through our participation in the Caenorhabditis Intevention Testing Program (CITP) and by creating new genetic tools for using approaches from synthetic biology to address critical questions in the biology of aging.

We also focus on understanding how the genetic system itself is molded by the evolutionary process. To investigate this, we use experimental evolution and whole genome analysis within laboratory populations of nematodes to identify the genetic basis of the response to selection, and theoretical approaches to study the evolution of gene interaction systems and suites of coevolving traits.

Selected Publications

(Google scholar)

Phillips, P.C. 2008. Epistasis: the fundamental role of gene interactions in the structure and evolution of genetic systems. Nature Reviews Genetics 9:855-867.

Morran, L.T., M. Parmenter, and P.C. Phillips. 2009. Mutation load and rapid adaptation favor outcrossing over self-fertilization. Nature 462:350-352.

Fierst, J.L., J.H. Willis, C.G. Thomas, W. Wang, R.M. Reynolds, T.E. Ahearne, A.D. Cutter, and P.C. Phillips. 2015. Reproductive mode and the evolution of genome size and structure in Caenorhabditis nematodes. PLoS Genetics 11(6): e1005323.

Lucanic, M., W.T. Plummer, E. Chen, J. Harke, D. Bhaumik, B. Onken, A.L. Coleman-Hulbert, K.J. Dumas, S. Guo, E. Johnson, A.C. Foulger, C. Chang, A.B. Crist, M.P. Presley, J. Xue, C.A. Sedore, M. Chamoli, G. Harinath, M.K. Chen, S. Angeli, M.A. Royal, J.H. Willis, D. Edgar, S. Patel, E.A. Chao, S. Kamat, J. Hope, C. Ibznez-Ventoso, J.L. Kish, M. Guo, G.J. Lithgow*, M. Driscoll*, and P.C. Phillips*. 2017. Impact of genetic background and experimental reproducibility on identifying chemical compounds with robust longevity effects. Nature Communications 8:14256.

Kasimatis, K.R., M.J. Moerdyk-Schauwecker, R. Lancaster, A. Smith, J.H. Willis, P.C. Phillips. 2022. Post-insemination selection dominates pre-insemination selection in driving rapid evolution of male competitive ability. PLOS Genetics 18: e1010063

Teterina, A.A., J.H. Willis, M. Lukac, R. Jovelin, A.D. Cutter, and P.C. Phillips. 2023. Genomic diversity landscapes in outcrossing and selfing Caenorhabditis nematodes. PLoS Genetics 19:e1010879.

Stevenson, Z.C., M.J. Moderdyk-Schauwecker, S.A. Banse, D.S. Patel, H. Lu, and P.C. Phillips. 2023. High-throughput library transgenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans via transgenic arrays resulting in diverse integrated sequences (TARDIS). Elife 12: RP84831.

Teaching

Bi 484/584 Molecular Evolution
Bi 610 Quantitative Methods in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology