The evolution of an undergraduate independent research project: Literature searches, data mining, and open-source programs to investigate a gene related to sociality

Throughout my tenure as an undergraduate student at Utah Valley University I have studied the evolution of DSCAM and its relationship to sociality within arthropoda using comparative phylogenetic methods. Down Syndrome Cell Adhesion Molecule (DSCAM, an immunoglobulin protein) is a protein important for brain development, especially in invertebrates. DSCAM has gone through independent duplication events in arthropods resulting in 4-6 DSCAM exon clusters with thousands of different isoforms. The DSCAM2 gene plays a significant role in regard to neuronal wiring and axonal guidance, and other DSCAM genes have similar roles relating to neuronal development as well as immunity. While investigating the rate of evolution of DSCAM2 in arthropods in comparison to a control (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1), I found topologies different between the DSCAM and COI trees within Hymenoptera (solitary wasps and subsocial sawflies). In order to understand if these differences in topology correspond to sociality, I increased my taxon sampling broadly across the insect tree of life to see if I find similar patterns in other social groups, such as Blattodea. Furthermore, I investigated if the same patterns of topology are present within other DSCAM phylogenies. I will discuss the process of creating my own independent research project, mining the literature, the skills I have learned, and my development as a scientist throughout my research experience.