Dr Vicencio Oostra
Future Leaders Fellow & Senior Lecturer
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London
Research
tropical butterflies, evolutionary adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, gene regulation, population and comparative genomics, biodiversity
Interests
The research in our lab aims to understand how the processes of phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary adaptation interact, and how these interactions drive species and ecosystem resilience to anthropogenic change. We use tropical butterflies, study them in the field and lab, and integrate approaches from development, genomics, evolutionary biology and ecology.Publications
Publications of specific relevance to the Centre for Evolutionary and Functional Genomics2024
Molleman F, Moore ME, Halali S, Kodandaramaiah U, Halali D, van Bergen E, Brakefield PM and Oostra V (2024). Larval growth rate is not a major determinant of adult wing shape and eyespot size in the seasonally polyphenic butterfly Melanitis leda. PeerJ, PeerJ vol. 12 16-10-2024
2023
Riley CL, Oostra V and Plaistow SJ (2023). Does the definition of a novel environment affect the ability to detect cryptic genetic variation? Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Oxford University Press (OUP) vol. 36 (11), 1618-1629. 01-11-2023
van Bergen E and Oostra V (2023). Digest: Habitat seasonality drives evolutionary change in plasticity in Bicyclus butterflies. Evolution, Oxford University Press (OUP) vol. 77 (8), 1910-1911. 10-06-2023
2022
Steward RA, de Jong MA, Oostra V and Wheat CW (2022). Alternative splicing in seasonal plasticity and the potential for adaptation to environmental change. Nature Communications, Springer Nature vol. 13 (1) 08-02-2022
Smolander O-P, Blande D, Ahola V, Rastas P, Tanskanen J, Kammonen JI, Oostra V, Pellegrini L, Ikonen S, Dallas T, DiLeo MF, Duplouy A, Duru IC, Halimaa P, Kahilainen A, Kuwar SS, Kärenlampi SO, Lafuente E, Luo S, Makkonen J, et al. (2022). Improved chromosome-level genome assembly of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) integrating Pacific Biosciences long reads and a high-density linkage map. GigaScience, Oxford University Press (OUP) vol. 11 (1) 12-01-2022
2021
Kahilainen A, Oostra V, Somervuo P, Minard G and Saastamoinen M (2021). Alternative developmental and transcriptomic responses to host plant water limitation in a butterfly metapopulation. Molecular Ecology, Wiley vol. 31 (22), 5666-5683. 27-09-2021
2019
Wright AE, Darolti I, Bloch NI, Oostra V, Sandkam BA, Buechel SD, Kolm N, Breden F, Vicoso B and Mank JE (2019). On the power to detect rare recombination events. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences vol. 116 (26), 12607-12608. 18-06-2019
Franke K, Karl I, Centeno TP, Feldmeyer B, Lassek C, Oostra V, Riedel K, Stanke M, Wheat CW and Fischer K (2019). Effects of adult temperature on gene expression in a butterfly: identifying pathways associated with thermal acclimation. BMC Ecology and Evolution, Springer Nature vol. 19 (1) 23-01-2019
Pearson RG, Martínez-Meyer E, Velázquez MA, Caron M, Corona-Núñez RO, Davis K, Durán AP, García-Morales R, Hackett TD, Ingram DJ, Díaz RL, Lescano J, Lira-Noriega A, López-Maldonado Y, Manuschevich D, Mendoza A, Milligan B, Mills SC, Moreira-Arce D, Nava LF, et al. (2019). Research priorities for maintaining biodiversity’s contributions to people in Latin America. 01-01-2019
2018
Kraaijeveld K, Oostra V, Liefting M, Wertheim B, de Meijer E and Ellers J (2018). Regulatory and sequence evolution in response to selection for improved associative learning ability in Nasonia vitripennis. BMC Genomics, Springer Nature vol. 19 (1) 01-12-2018
Oostra V, Saastamoinen M, Zwaan BJ and Wheat CW (2018). Strong phenotypic plasticity limits potential for evolutionary responses to climate change. Nature Communications, Springer Nature vol. 9 (1) 08-03-2018
2017
Nowell RW, Elsworth B, Oostra V, Zwaan BJ, Wheat CW, Saastamoinen M, Saccheri IJ, Hof AEV, Wasik BR, Connahs H, Aslam ML, Kumar S, Challis RJ, Monteiro A, Brakefield PM and Blaxter M (2017). A high-coverage draft genome of the mycalesine butterfly Bicyclus anynana. GigaScience, Oxford University Press (OUP) vol. 6 (7) 09-05-2017
Wright AE, Darolti I, Bloch NI, Oostra V, Sandkam B, Buechel SD, Kolm N, Breden F, Vicoso B and Mank JE (2017). Convergent recombination suppression suggests role of sexual selection in guppy sex chromosome formation. Nature Communications, Springer Nature vol. 8 (1) 31-01-2017
2016
Hudson LN, Newbold T, Contu S, Hill SLL, Lysenko I, De Palma A, Phillips HRP, Alhusseini TI, Bedford FE, Bennett DJ, Booth H, Burton VJ, Chng CWT, Choimes A, Correia DLP, Day J, Echeverría-Londoño S, Emerson SR, Gao D, Garon M, et al. (2016). The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project. Ecol Evol vol. 7 (1), 145-188. 16-12-2016
2014
Mateus ARA, Marques-Pita M, Oostra V, Lafuente E, Brakefield PM, Zwaan BJ and Beldade P (2014). Adaptive developmental plasticity: Compartmentalized responses to environmental cues and to corresponding internal signals provide phenotypic flexibility. BMC Biology, Springer Nature vol. 12 (1) 21-11-2014
Oostra V, Mateus ARA, van der Burg KRL, Piessens T, van Eijk M, Brakefield PM, Beldade P and Zwaan BJ (2014). Ecdysteroid Hormones Link the Juvenile Environment to Alternative Adult Life Histories in a Seasonal Insect. The American Naturalist, University of Chicago Press vol. 184 (3), e79-e92. 31-07-2014
Oostra V, Brakefield PM, Hiltemann Y, Zwaan BJ and Brattström O (2014). On the fate of seasonally plastic traits in a rainforest butterfly under relaxed selection. Ecology and Evolution, Wiley vol. 4 (13), 2654-2667. 04-06-2014
2010
Terenius O, Papanicolaou A, Garbutt JS, Eleftherianos I, Huvenne H, Kanginakudru S, Albrechtsen M, An C, Aymeric J-L, Barthel A, Bebas P, Bitra K, Bravo A, Chevalier F, Collinge DP, Crava CM, de Maagd RA, Duvic B, Erlandson M, Faye I, et al. (2010). RNA interference in Lepidoptera: An overview of successful and unsuccessful studies and implications for experimental design. Journal of Insect Physiology, Elsevier vol. 57 (2), 231-245. 20-11-2010
Oostra V, de Jong MA, Invergo BM, Kesbeke F, Wende F, Brakefield PM and Zwaan BJ (2010). Translating environmental gradients into discontinuous reaction norms via hormone signalling in a polyphenic butterfly. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, The Royal Society vol. 278 (1706), 789-797. 08-09-2010
Grants
Grants of specific relevance to the Centre for Evolutionary and Functional GenomicsFuture Leadership Fellowship: Testing how developmental pathways can predict evolutionary adaptation to climate change-GRANT TRANSFERVicencio Oostra
£1,404,707 MRC Medical Research Council (31-05-2022 - 30-03-2026)