Edward Metz
General Information
Associate Professor
Evolutionary Genetics
Phone: (707) 826-3240
Office: Science B 322
Email: ecm10@humboldt.edu
Personal Website: N/A
Academic background
- B.A., Yale University
- Ph.D., University of Hawaii
Courses
- Genetics
- Genetics with Population Emphasis
- Evolution
- Invertebrate Zoology
Summary of research
My research has focused on the genetics of sperm-egg interaction during fertilization in marine invertebrates, including sea urchins and abalone. Rapidly changing fertilization proteins may prevent reproduction between related populations, leading to speciation. My interests include studies of adaptive evolution with aspects of both organismal and molecular biology. I am especially interested in (1) mate choice and sexual selection and (2) "arms races" between hosts and pathogens.
Research opportunities for students include the use of molecular genetic tools to help understand evolution and systematics, as well as more applied areas such as conservation biology and forensics.
Sample publications
- V. D.Vacquier, W. J. Swanson, E. C. Metz, and C. D. Stout. 1999. Acrosomal proteins of abalone spermatozoa. Advances in Developmental Biochemistry 5: 49-81.
- E. C. Metz, R. Robles-Sikisaka, and V. D. Vacquier. 1998. Nonsynonymous substitution in abalone sperm fertilization genes exceeds synonymous substitution in introns and mitochondrial DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 95: 10676-10681.
- E. C. Metz, G. Gomez-Gutierrez, and V. D. Vacquier. 1998. Mitochondrial DNA and bindin gene sequence evolution among allopatric species of the sea urchin genus Arbacia. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 15: 185-195.
- G. K. Roderick and E. C. Metz. 1997. Biodiversity of planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) on the Hawaiian silversword alliance: Effects of host plant phylogeny and hybridisation. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria, Australia 56: 393-399.
- E. C. Metz and S. R. Palumbi. 1996. Positive selection and sequence rearrangements generate extensive polymorphism in the gamete recognition protein bindin. Molecular Biology and Evolution 13: 397-406.
- E. C. Metz, R. E. Kane, H. Yanagimachi, and S. R. Palumbi. 1994. Fertilization between closely-related sea urchins is blocked by incompatibilities during sperm-egg attachment and early stages of fusion. Biological Bulletin 187: 23-34.
Graduate students
Alexandra Goodell