Ruth B. Phillips Professor B.A.,Swarthmore College 1962 M.A., Indiana Univ. 1964 Ph.D., Univ. of Illinois 1967	Office: Lapham 462 Phone: 414-229-4909 FAX: 414-229-3926 Email: rp@uwm.edu Personal Homepage Electronic Reserve Materials:
Genetics

Research Interests

Research in my laboratory involves application of molecular and cytogenetic techniques to problems in evolutionary biology and conservation biology. Most of our projects involve studies of the evolutionary genetics of salmonid fishes which include the trouts, salmon, and chars. We are interested in the evolution of duplicate genes, the genetic mechanisms involved in speciation, and the evolution of sex determination in these ancestrally tetraploid species. The salmonid fishes are an especially interesting group for evolutionary studies because they have undergone radiation after polyploidization about 50-100 million years ago. Major chromosome rearrangements have accompanied speciation in many cases. Chromosome evolution is being studied using fluorescent in situ hybridization with probes for specific genes as well as chromosome paint probes. A major problem in the conservation biology of fishes is the identification of unique genetic stocks which need to be protected. Currently we are examining the biodiversity in lake trout in Lake Superior and in the Arctic char/Dolly Varden char complex in the Pacific northwest. We are using variation in microsatellite markers, in Mhc (major histocompatibility complex) loci and DNA amplified from mitochondrial and nuclear genes to determine intraspecific relationships and obtain markers for stock identification. In the future we hope to be able to identify genetic differences responsible for the important phenotypic differences between wild populations. We are collaborating with other fish genetics laboratories on a major intitiative to map the rainbow trout genome. Detailed chromosomal maps will allow researchers to identify genetic variation in aquaculturally important traits such as growth, temperature tolerance, and disease resistance. Our laboratory is involved in identifying blocks of genes which are conserved in other fishes such as zebrafish and other vertebrates.

Selected Publications

Phillips, R. B., M. P. Matsuoka, I. Konon, and K. M. Reed. 2000. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear sequences supports a close relationship between Acantholingua ohridana and Salmo salar. Copeia 2000(2) 546-550. Reed, K. M. and R. B. Phillips. 2000. Structure and organization of the rDNA intergenic spacer in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Chromosome Research 8:5-16. Phillips, R. B. and K. M. Reed. 2000. Localization of repetitive DNAs to zebrafish chromosomes using multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization. Chromosome Research 8:27-35. Rab, P., M. Rabova, K.M. Reed and R.B. Phillips. 1999. Chromosomal characteristics of ribosomal DNA in the primitive semionotiform fish, long nose gar Lepisoteus osseus. Chromosome Research, 7:475-480. Phillips, R. B., M. P. Matsuko, W. W. Smoker, and A.J. Gharrett. 1999. Inheritance of a chromosomal polymorphism in odd year pink salmon from southeastern Alaska. Genome 42:1-5. Oakley, T. H. and R. B. Phillips. 1999. Phylogeny of salmonine fish based on growth hormone introns: Atlantic (Salmo) and Pacific (Oncorhynchus) salmon are not Sister taxa. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 11:381-393. Phillips, R. B., K. M. Westrich, L.Gudex and F. DeCicco. 1999. Combined phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal ITS1 sequences and new chromosome data support three subgroups of Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 56:1-8. Dorschner, M. O. and R. B. Phillips. 1999. Comparative analysis of two Nramp loci from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). DNA and Cell Biology 18:573-576. Reed, K. M., M. O. Dorschner and R. B. Phillips. 1998. Characteristics of two salmonid repetitive DNA families in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics 79:184-187. Reed, K. M., M.O. Dorschner and T.N. Todd and R.B. Phillips. 1998. Sequence analysis of the mitochondrial DNA control region of ciscoes (genus Coregonus): taxonomic implications for the Great Lakes species flock. Molecular Ecology 7:1091-1096. Phillips, R. B. and T. H. Oakley. 1997. Evolutionary relationships among salmonid fishes inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial sequences. Chapter 10 In Molecular Systematics of Fishes, edited by Thomas Kocher and Carol Stepien, Academic Press (invited chapter). Domanico, M. J., R. B. Phillips, and T.H. Oakley. 1997. Phylogenetic analysis of the Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54:1865-1872. Sajdak, S. L. and R. B. Phillips. 1997. Biogeography of North American coregonids based on ribosomal DNA spacer sequences. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54:1494-1503. Phillips RB and Reed KM. Application of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to fish genetics Aquaculture 140:197-216, 1996. Phillips RB, Sajdak SL, and Domanico MJ. Evolutionary relationships among charrs inferred from DNA sequences. Nordic Journal of Freshwater Research. 71:378-391, 1995. Phillips RB and Ehlinger TE. Evolutionary and ecological considerations in the reestablishment of Great Lakes coregonid fishes. In J. Nielson (ed.) Evolution and the Aquatic Ecosystem: Defining Unique Units in Population Conservation. Am. Fish. Soc. Symp. 17:133-144, 1995. Reed KM, Bohlander SK, and Phillips RB. Microdissection of the Y chromosome and FISH analysis of the sex chromosomes of lake trout, Salvelius namaycush). Chromosome Research 3:221-226, 1995. Domanico MJ and Phillips RB. Phylogenetic analysis of Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 4:366-371, 1995.