Report from the first snake genomics and integrative biology meeting.

This report summarizes the proceedings of the 1st Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting held in Vail, CO USA, 5-8 October 2011. The meeting had over twenty registered participants, and was conducted as a single session of presentations. Goals of the meeting included coordination of genomic data collection and fostering collaborative interactions among researchers using snakes as model systems.

Sequence variation in the Mc1r gene for a group of polymorphic snakes.

Studying the genetic factors underlying phenotypic traits can provide insight into dynamics of selection and molecular basis of adaptation, but this goal can be difficult for non-model organisms without extensive genomic resources. However, sequencing candidate genes for the trait of interest can facilitate the study of evolutionary genetics in natural populations. We sequenced the melanocortin-1 receptor (Mc1r) to study the genetic basis of color polymorphism in a group of snake species with variable black banding, the genera Sonora, Chilomeniscus, and Chionactis.

Direct fitness correlates and thermal consequences of facultative aggregation in a desert lizard.

Social aggregation is a common behavioral phenomenon thought to evolve through adaptive benefits to group living. Comparing fitness differences between aggregated and solitary individuals in nature--necessary to infer an evolutionary benefit to living in groups--has proven difficult because communally-living species tend to be obligately social and behaviorally complex. However, these differences and the mechanisms driving them are critical to understanding how solitary individuals transition to group living, as well as how and why nascent social systems change over time.