Lydia Turley

Studying for Master of Science

Area of study:
Ornstein Uhlenbeck-Jump Models of Evolution

Supervisor: David Bryant—

Email: turly826@student.otago.ac.nz  

Thesis

Title: Ornstein Uhlenbeck-Jump Models of Evolution

Supervisor: David Bryant

Previous Degrees:

• BSc in Mathematics and Biological Sciences (University of Auckland); and

• BSc(Hons) in Mathematics (University of Otago), supervised by David Bryant.

When studying evolution and adaptation in plants, many physiological changes are cryptic and difficult to identify. Recent work has had success using transcriptomics to identify potential physiological differences between pairs of species.

In this project, we are working on developing models and analytical methods to extend pairwise transcriptome comparisons to multiple individuals. The mathematical challenge is extending existing Ornstien Uhlenbeck models to handle jumps, which represent sudden changes in function potentially associated with mutations in the genome. These models need to be able handle multivariate traits and population genetic structures arising from species radiations and artificial breeding programmes.