Dr. Cathy Rushworth
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Appointments and Education
Louise Kellogg Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley (2015 - present)
Ph.D., Biology, Duke University (2015)
B.S., Management, Communication, and Public Relations, Emerson College (2002)
Ph.D., Biology, Duke University (2015)
B.S., Management, Communication, and Public Relations, Emerson College (2002)
Research Interests
I am an evolutionary geneticist focusing on the evolution of reproductive systems and reproductive traits. My dissertation work used the mustard genus Boechera, which is highly self-fertilizing but also reproduces via outcrossing and apomixis (asexual reproduction via clonal seed). Asexual and sexual lineages of Boechera co-occur in multiple populations across its range. I used a combination of molecular work, classical genetics, and large-scale field and greenhouse experiments to ask: What evolutionary and ecological factors underlie the maintenance of sex in these natural plant populations?
For my postdoctoral work, I am focusing on the interaction between asexual reproduction and insect herbivory in Boechera. I'll also be working on the adaptive significance and genetic basis of variation in drosophilid reproductive structures.
See my website for more information: cathyrushworth.weebly.com
For my postdoctoral work, I am focusing on the interaction between asexual reproduction and insect herbivory in Boechera. I'll also be working on the adaptive significance and genetic basis of variation in drosophilid reproductive structures.
See my website for more information: cathyrushworth.weebly.com
Select Publications
- Rushworth, C.A., M.D. Windham, R.A. Keith, and T. Mitchell-Olds. (In preparation) Ecological variables predict apomixis in Boechera.
- Rushworth, C.A., and T. Mitchell-Olds. (In preparation) Patterns of natural selection maintain reproductive polymorphism in natural populations.
- Li, F.-W., C.A. Rushworth, J.B. Beck, and M.D. Windham. (In preparation) The Boechera (Brassicaceae) Microsatellite Database: an online portal for species identification and hybrid relationship resolution.
- Windham, M.D., J.B. Beck, F.-W. Li, L. Allphin, J.G. Carman, C.A. Rushworth, E.M. Sigel, P. Alexander, C.D. Bailey, I.A. Al-Shehbaz. (2015) Searching for diamonds in the apomictic rough. I: Do rare sexual populations of Boechera lignifera (Brassicaceae) represent a distinct species? Systematic Botany 40(4):1031-1044.
- Anderson, J.A., M.R. Wagner, C.A. Rushworth, K. Prasad, and T. Mitchell-Olds. (2014) The evolution of quantitative traits in complex environments. Heredity 112:4-12.
- Anderson, J.A., C.-R. Lee, C.A. Rushworth, R.I. Colautti, and T. Mitchell-Olds. (2013) Genetic tradeoffs and conditional neutrality contribute to local adaptation. Molecular Ecology 22(3):699-708.
- Beck, J.B., P.J. Alexander, L. Allphin, I.A. Al-Shehbaz, C.A. Rushworth, C.D. Bailey, and M.D. Windham. (2011) Does hybridization drive the transition to asexuality in diploid Boechera? Evolution 66(4): 985-995.
- Rushworth, C.A., B.-H. Song, C.-R. Lee, and T. Mitchell-Olds. (2011) Boechera, a model system for ecological genomics. Molecular Ecology 20(23): 4843-4857.
- Soltis, D.E., S.A. Smith, N. Cellinese, K.J. Wurdack, D.C. Tank, S.F. Brockington, N.F. Refulio-Rodriguez, J.B. Walker, M.J. Moore, B.S. Carlsward, C.D. Bell, M. Latvis, S. Crawley, C. Black, D. Diouf, Z. Xi, C.A. Rushworth, M.A. Gitzendanner, K.J. Sytsma, Y.-L. Qiu, K.W. Hilu, C.C. Davis, M.J. Sanderson, R.S. Beaman, R.G. Olmstead, W.S. Judd, M.J. Donoghue, and P.S. Soltis. (2011) Angiosperm phylogeny: 17 genes, 640 taxa. American Journal of Botany 98: 704-730.
