Timothy A. Linksvayer, Associate Professor

I joined TTU in January 2021 after ten years at the Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania (Assistant Professor, 2011; Associate Professor, 2017). My lab studies the genetic, developmental, and behavioral underpinnings of complex social phenotypes and social systems in order to understand how these systems evolve and function. We primarily use ants as a study system because ant colonies are exemplar complex social systems, have diverse social phenotypes, and are nice models for research in social evolution, developmental genetics, behavioral genetics, and collective behavior. Current projects include:

• Comparative genomics of social complexity in ants and spiders
• Using developmental genetics and comparative genomics to study the genetic underpinnings and evolution of an obligately sterile worker caste in ants
• Developing the pharaoh ant Monomorium pharaonis as a model for studying the genetic and behavioral basis of complex social traits

Select Recent Publications

• Walsh JT, L Pontieri, P d'Ettorre, TA Linksvayer. 2020. Ant cuticular hydrocarbons are heritable and associated with variation in colony productivity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287: 20201029.
• Walsh JT, S Garnier, TA Linksvayer. 2020. Ant collective behavior is heritable and shaped by selection. American Naturalist 196: 10.1086/710709.
• Singh R, TA Linksvayer. 2020. The bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia increases reproductive investment and accelerates the life cycle of ant colonies. Journal of Experimental Biology 223: doi: 10.1242/jeb.220079.
• Tong C, GB Najim, N Pinter-Wollman, JN Pruitt, TA Linksvayer. 2020. Comparative genomics identifies putative signatures of sociality in spiders. Genome Biology and Evolution 12: 122-133.
• Linksvayer TA, BR Johnson. 2019. Re-thinking the social ladder approach for elucidating the evolution and molecular basis of insect societies Current Opinion in Insect Science 34: 123-129.
• Warner MR, AS Mikheyev, TA Linksvayer. 2019. Transcriptomic basis and evolution of the ant nurse-larval social interactome. PLoS Genetics 15: e1008156.
• Warner MR, L Qiu, MJ Holmes, AS Mikheyev, TA Linksvayer. 2019. The convergent evolution of caste in ants and honey bees is based on a shared core of ancient reproductive genes and many plastic genes. Nature Communications 10: 2651.