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Evo-Devo@Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆ×ÊÁÏ

My main research interest is in the way that genomic changes have influenced animal evolution and development. Current research projects focus on the GC-biased mutation in desert rodents, snake venom evolution, and the mechanisms by which the uterine environment can change gene expression in the embryo.

Location: Room E1, 4th floor Brambell Building

Telephone: +44 (0)1248 383492

Personal webpage:

Twitter: @

• DPhil: The Evolution of Vertebrate ParaHox Genes
  Oxford University, 2007
• MSc: Biosystematics
  Imperial College London, 2003
• BSc: Genetics
  University of Liverpool, 2002

Comparative genomics

I have a long-standing interest in vertebrate genome evolution, especially as it relates to gene and genome duplication, and/or the evolution of novelty. Whole genome duplications look likely to have played a significant role in the evolution of vertebrates, and particularly the development of vertebrate innovations, and gene duplication has been an important factor in the origin and diversification of snake venom.

Postgraduate opportunities in this area relate to the evolution of vertebrate homeobox genes; GC-biased mutation in desert rodents; and snake venom evolution, taking advantage of recent advances in long-read sequencing and techniques for the assembly of chromosome-scale genome assemblies such as Hi-C.

Evolution and Development (Evo-Devo)

Changes to embryonic development can have major effects on adult morphology, and the evolution of developmental processes has been a major driver of animal evolution.

Postgraduate opportunities in this area relate to my current research into vertebrate axial patterning, and particularly how the uterine environment might influence numbers and types of vertebrae in mouse models. These projects would require management of rodent breeding programs; collection of embryos; antibody-based hormones assays, and gene/protein expression studies. There is scope for expansion of this research into studies of human and non-human primate vertebral variation.  

Snake venom evolution

The availability of whole genome sequences for multiple snake species is providing unprecedented insight into the processes underlying the origin and diversification of snake venom. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆ×ÊÁÏ is one of the few Universities in the UK that maintains a collection of venomous snakes, and this invaluable resource facilitates research into the genetic factors responsible for inter- and intra-species variation in snake venom composition.

Postgraduate opportunities in this area relate to the determination of the gene and genome level mechanisms that drive variation in venom composition within and between species.

2024

• Published
  Major, T., Jeffrey, L., Limia Russel, G., Bracegirdle, R., Gandini, A., Morgan, R., Marshall, B. M., Mulley, J. & Wüster, W., 3 Sept 2024, BioRxiv, 29 p.
  Research output: Working paper › Preprint

2023

• Published
  Brekke, T. D., Papadopulos, A. S. T., Julia, E., Fornas, O., Fu, B., Yang, F., de la Fuente, R., Page, J., Baril, T., Hayward, A. & Mulley, J., May 2023, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 40, 5, msad115.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Rogerson, G., Bock, S., Loera, Y., Parrott, B. & Mulley, J., 31 Mar 2023, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 226, 6, jeb245219.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Major, T., Bracegirdle, R., Gandini, A., Limia Russel, G., Pozzi, A., Morgan, R., Mulley, J. & Wüster, W., 17 Jan 2023, In: Herpetology Notes. 16, p. 51-54 4 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Brekke, T. D., Shier, L., Hegarty, M. J. & Mulley, J., Sept 2023, In: Conservation Genetics Resources. 15, 3, p. 117-124 8 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 31 Jan 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 43, p. 43
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Crowley, L. M., Telfer, M., Geiser, M. & Mulley, J., 13 Apr 2023, Wellcome Open research, p. 169, (Wellcome open research).
  Research output: Working paper › Preprint
• Published
  Mulley, J., Lees, D., programme, W. S. I. T. O. L. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 20 Dec 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 578
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Mulley, J. & Boyes, D., 9 Feb 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, p. 66
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Boyes, D., Mulley, J. F. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 23 Mar 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research. 8, 129, p. 129 1 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Boyes, D. & Mulley, J., 8 Feb 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 63.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Boyes, D. & Mulley, J., 31 Jan 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 45
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Boyes, D., Mulley, J., collective, D. T. O. L. B. & programme, W. S. I. T. O. L., 8 Sept 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 399
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Boyes, D., Mulley, J., collective, D. T. O. L. B. & programme, W. S. I. T. O. L., 12 Oct 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 441
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Crowley, L. M., Mulley, J. F., Lab, U. O. O. A. W. W. G. A., collective, D. T. O. L. B., programme, W. S. I. T. O. L., collective, W. S. I. S. O. D. P., collective, T. O. L. C. I. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 21 Jun 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research. 8, 258
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 12 Jan 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 17
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 8 Feb 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 65, p. 65
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Falk, S., Mulley, J. F. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 30 Aug 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research. 8, 373
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 2 Jun 2023, Wellcome Open research, p. 234, (Wellcome open research).
  Research output: Working paper › Preprint

2022

• Published
  Mulley, J., Apr 2022, In: Journal of Anatomy. 240, 4, p. 735-745 11 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
• Published
  Crowley, L. M. & Mulley, J., 5 Jul 2022, Wellcome Open Research , 7, 178, p. 178 1 p.
  Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

2020

• Published
  Payne, M., Mulley, J. & Winder, I. C., Apr 2020.
  Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › peer-review
• Published
  Parcana, R., Hargreaves, A. D., Mulley, J. & Holland, P. W. H., 1 Aug 2020, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 37, 8, p. 2197-2210 msaa072.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

• Published
  Brekke, T., Mulley, J., Steele, K., Denver, M., Thom, A. & Supriya, S., Apr 2019, In: Mammalian Genome. 30, 3-4, p. 63-70 8 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Payne, M., Winder, I. C. & Mulley, J., 18 Dec 2019.
  Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster › peer-review
• Published
  Mulley, J. F., Nov 2019, In: BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. 41, 11
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Zancolli, G., Calvete, J. J., Cardwell, M. D., Greene, H. W., Hayes, W. K., Hegarty, M. J., Herrmann, H.-W., Holycross, A. T., Lannutti, D. I., Mulley, J. F., Sanz, L., Travis, Z. D., Whorley, J. R., Wuster, C. E. & Wuster, W., 13 Mar 2019, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286, 1898, p. 20182735
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

• Published
  Brekke, T., Steele, K. & Mulley, J., 1 Feb 2018, In: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 8, 2, p. 679-686
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Hawkins, P., McBride, A., Paiba, G., Rose, R., Prescott, M. J., Mulley, J., Izzard, S., Ridley, D., Kappel, S., Melotti, L. & Hubrecht, R., Oct 2018, In: Animal Technology and Welfare. 17, 2, p. 75-42
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2017

• Published
  Hargreaves, A. D., Zhou, L., Christensen, J., Marletaz, F., Liu, S., Li, F., Jansen, P. G., Spiga, E., Hansen, M. T., Pedersen, S. V. H., Biswas, S., Seriwaka, K., Fox, B. A., Taylor, W. R., Mulley, J., Zhang, G., Heller, R. S. & Holland, P. W. H., 18 Jul 2017, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: PNAS. 114, 29, p. 7677–7682
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2016

• Published
  Braasch, I., Gehrke, A. R., Smith, J. J., Kawasaki, K., Manousaki, T., Pasquier, J., Amores, A., Desvignes, T., Batzel, P., Catchen, J., Berlin, A. M., Campbell, M. S., Barrell, D., Martin, K. J., Mulley, J. F., Ravi, V., Lee, A. P., Nakamura, T., Chalopin, D., Fan, S., Wcisel, D., Cañestro, C., Sydes, J., Beaudry, F. E., Sun, Y., Hertel, J., Beam, M. J., Fasold, M., Ishiyama, M., Johnson, J., Kehr, S., Lara, M., Letaw, J. H., Litman, G. W., Litman, R. T., Mikami, M., Ota, T., Saha, N. R., Williams, L., Stadler, P. F., Wang, H., Taylor, J. S., Fontenot, Q., Ferrara, A., Searle, S. M., Aken, B., Yandell, M., Schneider, I., Yoder, J. A., Volff, J., Meyer, A., Amemiya, C. T., Venkatesh, B., Holland, P. W., Guiguen, Y., Bobe, J., Shubin, N. H., Di Palma, F., Alföldi, J., Lindblad-Toh, K. & Postlethwait, J. H., 7 Mar 2016, In: Nature Genetics.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2015

• Published
  Hargreaves, A. D., Tucker, A. S., Mulley, J. F., Gopalakrishnakone, P. (Editor) & Malhotra, M. (Editor), 8 Aug 2015, Evolution of Venomous Animals and Their Toxins: Toxicology. Springer Netherlands, p. 1-15
  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
• Published
  Hargreaves, A. D. & Mulley, J. F., 24 Nov 2015, In: PeerJ. p. e1441
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2014

• Published
  Hargreaves, A. D. & Mulley, J. F., 27 Aug 2014, In: Toxicon. 90, p. 351-353
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Mulley, J. F. & Holland, P. W., 1 Sept 2014, In: Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 322, 6, p. 352-358
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Hargreaves, A. D., Swain, M. T., Hegarty, M. J., Logan, D. W. & Mulley, J. F., 30 Jul 2014, In: Genome Biology and Evolution. 6, 8, p. 2088-2095
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Hargreaves, A. D., Swain, M. T., Logan, D. W. & Mulley, J. F., 17 Oct 2014, In: Toxicon. 92, p. 140-156
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Mulley, J. F., Hargreaves, A. D., Hegarty, M. J., Heller, R. S. & Swain, M. T., 6 Dec 2014, In: BMC Genomics. 15, 1074
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2010

• Published
  Mulley, J. F. & Holland, P. W., 12 May 2010, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 27, 10, p. 2386-2391
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2009

• Published
  Mulley, J. F., Zhong, Y. F. & Holland, P. W., 2 Sept 2009, In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. 9, p. 218
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2008

• Published
  Furlong, R. F. & Mulley, J. F., 25 Oct 2008, In: Zoological Science. 25, 10, p. 955-9 5 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

2006

• Published
  Mulley, J. F., Chiu, C.-H. & Holland, P. W. H., 5 Jul 2006, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103, 27, p. 10369-72 4 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2004

• Published
  Mulley, J. & Holland, P., 21 Oct 2004, In: Nature. 431, 7011, p. 916-7 2 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Published
  Daly, D., Waltham, K., Mulley, J., Watts, P., Rosin, A., Kemp, S. & Saccheri, I., Jun 2004, In: Molecular Ecology Notes. 4, 2, p. 179-181
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2023

• 25 Jul 2023 – 27 Jul 2023

  Activity: Participation in Academic conference (Organiser)

• 01/06/2019 – 30/09/2023 (Finished)

• 01/02/2019 – 30/06/2020 (Finished)

• 01/11/2017 – 31/12/2017 (Finished)

• 01/11/2017 – 15/03/2018 (Finished)

• 01/02/2017 – 30/05/2018 (Finished)

• 01/06/2016 – 01/08/2019 (Finished)

• 01/04/2011 – 31/08/2012 (Finished)

• 01/02/2011 – 31/03/2013 (Finished)

• 01/08/2010 – 31/08/2014 (Finished)