Welcome to the McGuigan Laboratory at the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

In the McGuigan lab, we study processes generating and eliminating quantitative genetic variation, and the consequences of these interacting processes for phenotypic evolution. Many decades of study have revealed that traits are typically heritable and that divergent selection leads to rapid evolution of traits including morphology, physiology and behaviour. How the genetic variance associated with those quantitative traits evolves, and the nature of standing genetic variance however remains something of a mystery. Focusing on new genetic variation (mutation) that has not yet been seen by selection, we aim to understand more about how mutation, selection and drift interact to determine standing genetic variation, and how the nature of standing genetic variation might influence current and future phenotype evolution.

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