Ricardo Mallarino
Focus
The molecular basis of evolutionary change.
Research
The Mallarino lab is broadly interested in addressing two questions:
- What are the genetic and developmental mechanisms by which morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits are established?
- How are these processes modified during evolutionary time to produce the spectacular phenotypic diversity seen in nature?
To answer these questions, we combine the study of emerging model organisms, because of their diverse, naturally occurring and ecologically relevant phenotypes, with traditional model species, because of the powerful molecular and genetic tools available. We use a variety of approaches, including experimental embryology, transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling, comparative genomics, functional genetics, and imaging, to uncover gene function and understand mechanisms of evolutionary change.
Please navigate to the lab research page to find a description of the different projects that are currently ongoing in our lab
Biography
Ricardo Mallarino is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. Originally from Bogota, Colombia, he graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Universidad de los Andes. He completed his graduate studies at Harvard in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in 2011, working with Arhat Abzhanov on developmental mechanisms underlying beak shape diversity in Darwin’s finches and their close relatives. After completing his PhD. he joined Hopi Hoekstra’s lab at Harvard, where he established a new model species and developed tools for studying the molecular basis of pigment pattern formation in mammals. Dr. Mallarino’s research focuses on understanding the genetic and developmental mechanisms by which form and structure are regulated during vertebrate embryogenesis and elucidating how these processes get modified during evolutionary time to produce phenotypic diversity.
Honors & Awards
2021
- Vallee Scholar
2019
- Searle Scholar
- Sloan Fellow
Education
- Ph.D., Biology, Harvard University
- B.S., Biology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
Selected Publications
- 1.Wooldridge B, Kautt A, Lassance J-M, McFadden S, Domingues V, Mallarino R, Hoekstra H. An enhancer of contributes to parallel evolution of cryptically colored beach mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022;119(27):e2202862119. PMCID: PMC9271204
- 1.Caro T, Mallarino R. Coloration in Mammals. Trends Ecol Evol. 2020;35(4):357–366. PMID: 31980234
- 1.Johnson M, Barsh G, Mallarino R. Periodic patterns in Rodentia: Development and evolution. Exp Dermatol. 2019;28(4):509–513. PMCID: PMC6488409
- 1.Kocher S, Mallarino R, Rubin B, Yu D, Hoekstra H, Pierce N. The genetic basis of a social polymorphism in halictid bees. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):4338. PMCID: PMC6194137
- 1.Feigin C, Mallarino R. Setting the bar. Elife. 2018;7. PMCID: PMC6050038
- 1.Mallarino R, Pillay N, Hoekstra H, Schradin C. African striped mice. Curr Biol. 2018;28(7):R299-R301. PMID: 29614283
- 1.Mallarino R, Linden T, Linnen C, Hoekstra H. The role of isoforms in the evolution of cryptic coloration in Peromyscus mice. Mol Ecol. 2017;26(1):245–258. PMID: 27105018
- 1.De-Silva D, Mota L, Chazot N, Mallarino R, Silva-Brandão K, Piñerez L, Freitas A, Lamas G, Joron M, Mallet J, Giraldo C, Uribe S, Särkinen T, Knapp S, Jiggins C, Willmott K, Elias M. North Andean origin and diversification of the largest ithomiine butterfly genus. Sci Rep. 2017;7:45966. PMCID: PMC5384087
- 1.Mallarino R, Henegar C, Mirasierra M, Manceau M, Schradin C, Vallejo M, Beronja S, Barsh G, Hoekstra H. Developmental mechanisms of stripe patterns in rodents. Nature. 2016;539(7630):518–523. PMCID: PMC5292240
- 1.Mallarino R, Hoekstra H, Manceau M. Developmental genetics in emerging rodent models: case studies and perspectives. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2016;39:182–186. PMID: 27639098
- 1.Mallarino R, Campàs O, Fritz J, Burns K, Weeks O, Brenner M, Abzhanov A. Closely related bird species demonstrate flexibility between beak morphology and underlying developmental programs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(40):16222–7. PMCID: PMC3479598
- 1.Mallarino R, Abzhanov A. Paths less traveled: evo-devo approaches to investigating animal morphological evolution. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2012;28:743–63. PMCID: PMC8845070
- 1.Mallarino R, Grant P, Grant R, Herrel A, Kuo W, Abzhanov A. Two developmental modules establish 3D beak-shape variation in Darwin’s finches. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108(10):4057–62. PMCID: PMC3053969
- 1.Manceau M, Domingues V, Mallarino R, Hoekstra H. The developmental role of Agouti in color pattern evolution. Science. 2011;331(6020):1062–5. PMID: 21350176
- 1.Campàs O, Mallarino R, Herrel A, Abzhanov A, Brenner M. Scaling and shear transformations capture beak shape variation in Darwin’s finches. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010;107(8):3356–60. PMCID: PMC2840476
- 1.Jiggins C, Mallarino R, Willmott K, Bermingham E. The phylogenetic pattern of speciation and wing pattern change in neotropical Ithomia butterflies (Lepidoptera: nymphalidae). Evolution. 2006;60(7):1454–66. PMID: 16929662
- 1.Mallarino R, Bermingham E, Willmott K, Whinnett A, Jiggins C. Molecular systematics of the butterfly genus Ithomia (Lepidoptera: Ithomiinae): a composite phylogenetic hypothesis based on seven genes. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2005;34(3):625–44. PMID: 15683934
- 1.Whinnett A, Zimmermann M, Willmott K, Herrera N, Mallarino R, Simpson F, Joron M, Lamas G, Mallet J. Strikingly variable divergence times inferred across an Amazonian butterfly ’suture zone’. Proc Biol Sci. 2005;272(1580):2525–33. PMCID: PMC1599783