Shannon Straub
Shannon StraubAssociate Professor of BiologyCo-Chair, BiochemistryChair, Biology
Joined faculty in 2014
Ph.D., Cornell University
B.A., University of Colorado
Contact Information
Scholarly Interest
plant systematics, phylogenomics, genome structure and evolution
Research
I investigate the evolutionary relationships at different scales in the milkweed and dogbane family (Apocynaceae). At the species level, I am working to understand the diversification of milkweeds (Asclepias) in North America, where more than 120 species have evolved over the last 5-10 million years. At the family level, I am working to understand relationships among genera, tribes and subfamilies of Apocynaceae to provide a framwork for investigating the evolution of the biochemical pathway for pyrrolizidine alkaloid production. To address these questions, I use the sequences of hundereds of nuclear genes and whole chloroplast genome sequences to infer evolutionary relationships.
Courses Taught
BIOL 167: Topics in Introductory Biology - Plants & People
BIOL 220: General Genetics
BIOL 228: The Biology of Plants
BIOL 380: Genomics
BIOL 460: Senior Seminar - Genome Collisions
Publications
Selected Recent Publications:
Straub, S.C.K., J. Boutte, M. Fishbein, and T. Livshultz. 2020. Enabling evolutionary studies at multiple scales in Apocynaceae through Hyb-Seq. Applications in Plant Sciences 8(11): e11400. https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aps3.11400
Weitemier, K., S.C.K. Straub, M. Fishbein, C.D. Bailey, R.C. Cronn, and A. Liston. 2019. A draft genome and transcriptome of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) as resources for evolutionary, ecological, and molecular studies in milkweeds and Apocynaceae. PeerJ 7:e7649. https://peerj.com/articles/7649/
Boutte, J. M. Fishbein, A. Liston, and S.C.K. Straub. 2019. NGS-Indel Coder: A pipeline to code indel characters in phylogenomic data with an example of its application in milkweeds (Asclepias). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 139:106534. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790319300958
Fishbein, M., T. Livshultz, S.C.K. Straub, A. Simões, J. Boutte, A. McDonnell, and A. Foote. 2018. Evolution on the backbone: Apocynaceae phylogenomics and new perspectives on growth forms, flowers, and fruits. American Journal of Botany 105(3):495-513. https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajb2.1067
Fishbein, M., S.C.K. Straub, J. Boutte, K. Hansen, R.C. Cronn, and A. Liston. 2018. Evolution at the tips: Asclepias (Apocynaceae) phylogenomics and new perspectives on leaf surfaces. American Journal of Botany 105(3):514-524. https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajb2.1062
Livshultz, T., E. Kaltenegger, S.C.K. Straub, K. Weitemier, E. Hirsch, K. Koval, L. Mema, and A. Liston. 2018. Evolution of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis in Apocynaceae: evidence for the defense de-escalation hypothesis. New Phytologist 218(2):762-773. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.15061
For a full publication list, visit my Google Scholar page:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VYukyS8AAAAJ&hl=en.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Society of Plant Taxonomists
Botanical Society of America
Society of Systematic Biologists
