Kevin Wei

The genome is often characterized as an intricate, well-oiled machine, evolved to have optimized parts working in harmony. This is far from the reality. The genome is littered with genes and DNA sequences that not only have no function but are actively harmful to the rest of the genome and the organism. Transposable elements, or jumping, genes are commonly regarded as selfish genetic elements, as they can move around and make copies of themselves. But in doing so, they create mutations that can cause breaks in the DNA and destroy gene function. Therefore, their replicative nature threatens the integrity of the genome. Yet, they are also highly ubiquitous, often making up large fractions of eukaryotic genomes (e.g. 50% of the human genome). The Wei Lab seeks to understand the profound impact these selfish genetic elements have on the genome and the organism. How does the genome combat their deleterious activities to maintain organismal fitness and reproductive health? How do these elements contribute to genome instability and diseases? And how do they drive changes in the genome across deep evolutionary time?

• Molecular mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of evasion tactics by transposable elements.
• Evolution of meiotic and embryonic regulation of transposable elements across Drosophila genus.
• Molecular evolution of recurrent turnover in recombination and meiotic regimes in Drosophila.