Gregory A. Wray, Professor of Biology

Gregory A. Wray

I study the evolution of genes and genomes with the broad aim of understanding the origins of biological diversity. My approach focuses on changes in the expression of genes using both empirical and computational approaches and spans scales of biological organization from single nucleotides through gene networks to entire genomes. At the finer end of this spectrum of scale, I am focusing on understanding the functional consequences and fitness components of specific genetic variants within regulatory sequences of several genes associated with ecologically relevant traits. At the other end of the scale, I am developing molecular and analytical methods to detect changes in gene function throughout entire genomes, including statistical frameworks for detecting natural selection on regulatory elements and empirical approaches to identify functional variation in transcriptional regulation. At intermediate scales, I am investigating functional variation within a dense gene network in the context of wild populations and natural perturbations. My research leverages the advantages of several different model systems, but primarily focuses on sea urchins and primates (including humans).

Office Location:  125 Science Drive, 4104 French Family Science Center, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:  +1 919 684 6696
Email Address: send me a message
Web Pages:  http://www.biology.duke.edu/wraylab
https://sites.duke.edu/wraylab/

Teaching (Spring 2024):

Teaching (Fall 2024):

Education:

Ph.D.Duke University1987
B.S.College of William and Mary1981
Specialties:

Evolution
Developmental Biology
Genomics
Research Interests: Evolution of gene networks and developmental mechanisms

I study the evolution of genes and genomes with the broad aim of understanding the origins of biological diversity. My approach focuses on changes in the expression of genes using both empirical and computational approaches and spans scales of biological organization from single nucleotides through gene networks to entire genomes. At the finer end of this spectrum of scale, I am focusing on understanding the functional consequences and fitness components of specific genetic variants within regulatory sequences of several genes associated with ecologically relevant traits. At the other end of the scale, I am developing molecular and analytical methods to detect changes in gene function throughout entire genomes, including statistical frameworks for detecting natural selection on regulatory elements and empirical approaches to identify functional variation in transcriptional regulation. At intermediate scales, I am investigating functional variation within a dense gene network in the context of wild populations and natural perturbations. My research leverages the advantages of several different model systems, but primarily focuses on sea urchins and primates (including humans).

Keywords:

5' Flanking Region • Adaptation • Adaptation, Biological • Adaptation, Physiological • Adipose Tissue • Alleles • Allelic Imbalance • Alternative Splicing • Amino Acid Sequence • Analysis of Variance • Animals • Animals, Wild • Ants • Aquaculture • Arabidopsis • Archaea • Autoimmune Diseases • Bacteria • Base Sequence • Bayes Theorem • Beetles • Behavior, Animal • Binding Sites • Biological Evolution • Biological Markers • Body Patterning • Bone and Bones • Brain • Brain Chemistry • Bryophyta • Calcification, Physiologic • Cell Adhesion Molecules • Cell Culture Techniques • Cell Differentiation • Cell Line • Cell Line, Tumor • Cell Size • Cells, Cultured • Centromere • Cerebral Cortex • Chromatin • Chromatin Immunoprecipitation • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 • Climate Change • Cloning, Molecular • Cognition • Coleoptera • Competitive Behavior • Complement Activation • Computational Biology • Consensus Sequence • Conserved Sequence • Coronary Artery Disease • Creatine Kinase, BB Form • Creatine Kinase, Mitochondrial Form • Creatine Kinase, MM Form • Culture Media • Databases, Genetic • Dental Enamel Proteins • Deoxyribonuclease I • Diet • DNA • DNA Primers • DNA, Intergenic • DNA, Satellite • DNA-Binding Proteins • Drosophila Proteins • Duffy Blood-Group System • Echinodermata • Ecology • Ecosystem • Embryo, Nonmammalian • Embryonic Development • Energy Metabolism • Enhancer Elements, Genetic • Enkephalins • Environment • Eukaryota • Eukaryotic Cells • Evolution, Molecular • Evolutionary genetics • Extracellular Matrix Proteins • Factor VII • Female • Fibroblasts • Fluorescent Antibody Technique • Forecasting • Gastrula • Gene Duplication • Gene Expression • Gene Expression Profiling • Gene Expression Regulation • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant • Gene Frequency • Gene Regulatory Networks • Gene-Environment Interaction • Genes • Genes, Developmental • Genes, Homeobox • Genes, Insect • Genes, Regulator • Genes, Reporter • Genetic Heterogeneity • Genetic Predisposition to Disease • Genetic Variation • Genetics, Population • Genome • Genome, Human • Genome-Wide Association Study • Genomics • Genotype • Geography • Germ Cells, Plant • Germ Layers • Glucose Transporter Type 4 • Gorilla gorilla • Haemosporida • Haplotypes • Helminths • HLA-DQ Antigens • Homeodomain Proteins • Hominidae • Human Genome Project • Humans • Hypersensitivity • Immunity, Innate • Immunohistochemistry • Immunologic Factors • Insect Proteins • Interleukin-4 • Introns • Kenya • Larva • Lemur • Life Cycle Stages • Likelihood Functions • Liver • Lytechinus • Macaca • Macaca mulatta • Madagascar • Malaria • Male • Matrix Metalloproteinase 3 • Membrane Transport Proteins • Mesoderm • Metamorphosis • Metamorphosis, Biological • Mice • Microsatellite Repeats • Microscopy, Electron • Models, Genetic • Models, Statistical • Models, Theoretical • Molecular Sequence Data • Morphogenesis • Muscle, Skeletal • Mutation • Narcotics • Nervous System • Nervous System Physiological Phenomena • Neurons • NFATC Transcription Factors • Nuclear Proteins • Nucleotide Motifs • Nutrigenomics • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis • Oocytes • Opioid Peptides • Organ Size • Organ Specificity • Pan troglodytes • Papio • Papio cynocephalus • Petroleum • Phenotype • Phosphocreatine • Phosphoproteins • Phylogeny • Plasmodium vivax • Polymerase Chain Reaction • Polymorphism, Genetic • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide • Pongo pygmaeus • Prevalence • Primates • Promoter Regions, Genetic • Protein Binding • Protein Biosynthesis • Protein Precursors • Protein Processing, Post-Translational • Proteins • Quantitative Trait Loci • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction • Receptors, Cell Surface • Reference Standards • Regression Analysis • Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional • Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid • Reproducibility of Results • Reproduction • Response Elements • Retroelements • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction • Saccharomyces cerevisiae • Sea Urchins • Selection, Genetic • Sequence Alignment • Sequence Analysis, DNA • Sequence Analysis, RNA • Sequence Homology • Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid • Sex Factors • Signal Transduction • Social Dominance • Social Environment • Sodium-Phosphate Cotransporter Proteins, Type III • Species Specificity • Statistics, Nonparametric • Stem Cells • Stromal Cells • Strongylocentrotus purpuratus • Systems Biology • Temperature • Th2 Cells • Time Factors • Transcription Factors • Transcription Initiation Site • Transcription, Genetic • Transcriptional Activation • Transcriptome • Transfection • Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase • Untranslated Regions • Vertebrates • Wing • Wings, Animal

Current Ph.D. Students  

Postdocs Mentored

Representative Publications   (search)

  1. Runcie, DE; Garfield, DA; Babbitt, CC; Wygoda, JA; Mukherjee, S; Wray, GA, Genetics of gene expression responses to temperature stress in a sea urchin gene network., Molecular ecology, vol. 21 no. 18 (September, 2012), pp. 4547-4562 [22856327], [doi]  [abs]
  2. Shibata, Y; Sheffield, NC; Fedrigo, O; Babbitt, CC; Wortham, M; Tewari, AK; London, D; Song, L; Lee, B-K; Iyer, VR; Parker, SCJ; Margulies, EH; Wray, GA; Furey, TS; Crawford, GE, Extensive evolutionary changes in regulatory element activity during human origins are associated with altered gene expression and positive selection., PLoS Genet, vol. 8 no. 6 (June, 2012), pp. e1002789 [22761590], [doi]  [abs]
  3. Garfield, D; Haygood, R; Nielsen, WJ; Wray, GA, Population genetics of cis-regulatory sequences that operate during embryonic development in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus., Evolution & development, vol. 14 no. 2 (March, 2012), pp. 152-167 [23017024], [doi]  [abs]
  4. Babbitt, CC; Tung, J; Wray, GA; Alberts, SC, Changes in gene expression associated with reproductive maturation in wild female baboons., Genome biology and evolution, vol. 4 no. 2 (January, 2012), pp. 102-109, ISSN 1759-6653 [doi]  [abs]
  5. Pfefferle, AD; Warner, LR; Wang, CW; Nielsen, WJ; Babbitt, CC; Fedrigo, O; Wray, GA, Expression analysis of the phosphocreatine circuit in extant primates: Implications for human brain evolution, Journal for Human Evolution, vol. 60 (2011), pp. 205-211
  6. Babbitt, CC; Warner, LR; Fedrigo, O; Wall, CE; Wray, GA, Genomic signatures of diet-related shifts in primate evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, vol. 278 (2011), pp. 961-969
  7. Yokoyama, KD; Thorne, JL; Wray, GA, Coordinated genome-wide modifications within proximal promoter cis-regulatory elements during vertebrate evolution, Genome Biology and Evolution, vol. 3 (2011), pp. 66-74 [21118975], [doi]  [abs]
  8. Fedrigo, O; Pfefferele, AD; Babbitt, CC; Haygood, R; Wall, CE; Wray, GA, Molecular evidence that a metabolic trade-off contributed to human brain size evolution, Brain, Behavior, and Evolution, vol. 78 (2011), pp. 315-326
  9. Cruz-Gordillo, P; Fedrigo, O; Wray, GA; Babbitt, CC, Extensive changes in the expression of the opioid genes between humans and chimpanzees., Brain, behavior and evolution, vol. 76 no. 2 (January, 2010), pp. 154-162 [21079395], [doi]  [abs]
  10. Babbitt, CC; Silverman, JS; Haygood, R; Reininga, JM; Rockman, MV; Wray, GA, Multiple Functional Variants in cis Modulate PDYN Expression., Molecular biology and evolution, vol. 27 no. 2 (February, 2010), pp. 465-479 [19910384], [doi]  [abs]
  11. Babbitt, CC; Fedrigo, O; Pfefferle, AD; Boyle, AP; Horvath, JE; Furey, TS; Wray, GA, Both noncoding and protein-coding RNAs contribute to gene expression evolution in the primate brain., Genome biology and evolution, vol. 2 (January, 2010), pp. 67-79 [20333225], [doi]  [abs]
  12. Haygood, R; Babbitt, CC; Fedrigo, O; Wray, GA, Contrasts between adaptive coding and noncoding changes during human evolution., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 107 no. 17 (April, 2010), pp. 7853-7857 [20385805], [doi]  [abs]