Gyrnomics Project 

The interaction between pathogens exposure, environmental variable, and host disease tolerance affects the demographics of wild populations. With a warming climate, many terrestrial communities are shifting their distributions or phenology, and exposing Arctic ecosystems to novel pathogens. The effects of novel pathogens in Arctic systems remain poorly understood, with a need to characterize mechanisms that can forecast resilience. Here, we leverage global partnerships and emergent technologies to sequence the genomes and metagenomes of an iconic Holarctic  raptors - the Gyrfalcon - to understand the mechanisms that underpin immune competence. To meet this aim, we will compare immune gene copy number and variation between Gyrfalcon and it globally distributed congener, the Peregrine Falcon, using high-quality and readily available reference genomes. We well use whole genome sequencing to characterize the functional genomic diversity among Gyrfalcons using existing samples from three geographic areas: Alaska, Greenland, and Iceland. Finally, we will use metagenomic sequencing to identify the microbiome of Gyrfalcon and the role of microbial communities in producing immune competence phenotypes (i.e., the 'holobiont'). This work will empower researchers at Boise State University to broaden relationships with the global Gyrfalcon research community to better understand disease resilience in the new Arctic. 

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*This research is led by Dr. Stephanie Galla at Boise State University*