Existing evidence of genomic imprinting has been limited to model organisms isolated from the effects of natural selection. The experiments described in this proposal represent a pioneering investigation of genomic imprinting in a wild vertebrate that will provide valuable and general insights into the ways in which natural selection shapes patterns of genetic variation and inheritance in nature. The continued assessment of both maternity and paternity for side-blotched lizards will generate one of the most extensive field pedigrees in the wild. Increasing understanding of the biology of this natural system has led to the development of a novel hypothesis for the evolution of genomic imprinting, which will be explicitly tested. It is only through the integration of this extensive pedigree with elegant breeding designs and experimental manipulations of maternal effects that these exciting investigations are now possible.
Broader Impacts: The research will train one postdoctoral fellow, two graduate students and twenty undergraduates, including several women and minorities. Co-PI McAdam is a junior faculty member and this project will provide a valuable start to his research program. Broader public outreach will be targeted at the K-12 age group through an interactive website that will teach about the scientific method, natural history and evolution. The research will also produce material for a CD Rom that will be available for K-12 educators on a well-subscribed science education site (http://wise.Berkeley.edu). These outreach endeavors will provide society with a deeper understanding of natural history and the evolutionary process
