In the McGaugh Lab, we focus on two main topics. Some of the most fundamental biological questions involve how, why, and how fast organisms can adapt to new environments and whether evolution would proceed down the same path if repeated in an independent event. Cases of repeated evolution offer a window into understanding whether certain types of genetic variants are more likely than others to consistently contribute to evolutionary change. For this work, we interrogate genomes for signatures left by local adaptation in cavefish. Cavefish in northern Mexico have lost their eyes and pigment and experience changes in metabolism and behavior. These changes have occurred independently in multiple cave populations. This repeated evolution offers an opportunity to understand specific characteristics of targets of selection that are repeatedly responsible for phenotypic change.

Lastly, our lab participates in large-scale collaborative projects, mostly investigating population genomics, conservation genetics, and molecular evolution in vertebrates.

Wiese, J. E. Richards, J. E. Kowalko, S. McGaugh. 2024. Loci associated with cave-derived traits concentrate in specific regions of the Mexican cavefish genome. Journal of Heredity. esae040, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esae040 

Drabeck, D.H. J. Wiese, E. Gilbertson, J. Arroyave, D. Arcila, S.E. Alter, R. Borowsky, D. Hendrickson, M. Stiassny, S.E. McGaugh. 2024. Gene loss and relaxed selection of plaat1 in vertebrates adapted to low light environments. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 291: 20232847 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2847

Moran, R.L., E. Richards, C.P. Ornelas-García, J.B. Gross, A. Donny, J. Wiese, A.C. Keene, J.E. Kowalko, N. Rohner, and S.E. McGaugh. 2023. Selection-driven trait loss in independently evolved cavefish populations. Nature Communications 14, no. 1 (2023): 2557. 

Enriquez, M.S. N. Swanson, T. Tait, A.G. Gluesenkamp, S.E. McGaugh, A.F. Mensinger. 2023. Evidence for rapid divergence of sensory systems between Texas populations of the Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. doi:10.3389/fevo.2023.1085975 

Drabeck, D.H., J. Holt*, S. E. McGaugh. Widespread convergent evolution of alpha-neurotoxin resistance in African mammals. Biology Letters. 18: 20220361. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0361 

Weaver, S. S. E. McGaugh, TJY Kono, R. Macip-Rios, A. G. Gluesenkamp. Assessing genomic and ecological differentiation in the Mexican Mud Turtle, Kinosternon hirtipes. In Press. Journal of Heredity. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esac036 

Moran, R. L. J. B. Jaggard, E. Y. Roback, A. Kenzior, N. Rohner, J. Kowalko, C. P. Ornelas García, S. E. McGaugh, A. C. Keene. 2022. Hybridization underlies localized trait evolution in cavefish. iScience 25: 103778. https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)00048-7 

McGaugh, S. E., A. Lorenz, L.E. Flagel. 2021. The utility of genomic prediction models in evolutionary genetics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 288: 20210693. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0693 

O’Gorman, M. S. Thakur, G. Imrie1, R.L. Moran2, S. Choy1, I. Sifuentes-Romero1, H. Bilandžija, K. J. Renner, E. Duboue, N. Rohner, S. E. McGaugh, A. C. Keene, J. E. Kowalko. Pleiotropic function of the oca2 gene underlies the evolution of sleep loss and albinism in cavefish. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.077 Commentary: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.016 

Mack, K.L., J. B. Jaggard, J.L. Persons, C.N. Passow, B.A. Stahl, E. Ferrufino, D. Tsuchiya, S.E. Smith, B. Slaughter, T.J.Y. Kono, J. Kowalko, N. Rohner, A.C. Keene, S. E. McGaugh. Convergent dysregulation of the circadian clock in cavefish populations. PLoS Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009642

Ph.D., Iowa State University, 2009