Dr. Emma Teeling | UCD Conway

Research

Dr Emma C Teeling B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Contact Details

Title	Lecturer
Address	School of Biology & Environmental Science Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.
Telephone:	+ 353 1 716 2263
Email:	ei.dcu@gnileet.amme
Homepage:	Web Page

Title	Conway Fellow
Address	Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research

Biography:

Jan. 2005 - present: Lecturer in Evolution and Genetics, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Ireland (tenured).
Jan. 2002 - Dec. 2004: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Insititute, USA.
Sept. 1997 - Dec. 2001: Ph.D. in Molecular Phylogenetics, Queen's University Belfast, N.Ireland and The University of California, Riverside, California, USA.
Sept. 1995 - Dec. 1996: M.Sc. in Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare, University of Edinburgh, Scotland and Cochrane Ecological Institute, Alberta, Canada.
Sept. 1991 - Sept. 1995: B.Sc. in Zoology, University College Dublin, Ireland.

Short Biography:

I graduated with a first class honours Zoology degree from University College Dublin, Ireland (1991) where I specialized in field biology and mate choice behaviour of female fallow deer. Next I pursued an M.Sc. in animal behaviour at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and at the Cochrane Ecological Institute, Canada where I investigated the captive behaviour of the endangered swift fox (1992). Unable to answer evolutionary questions using ecology and behaviour alone I successfully pursued a Ph.D. in molecular phylogenetics at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland and at the University of California Riverside, USA (2001). This Ph.D. research examined the interfamilial relationships of bats and other mammals, and was the foundation for my post-doctoral research at the National Cancer Institute, Maryland USA in the laboratory of Genomic Diversity. There, I investigated how the study of diverse organisms can inform medicine and enable us to better understand the structure and functioning of the human genome. Both my Ph.D. and postdoctoral research culminated in papers that are highly cited and published in Nature and Science. This integrative research forms the basis for my present studies in the School of Biology and Environmental Research, UCD where I am currently a tenured lecturer (2005). I run a large, funded, active research group (PIYRA, SFI-RFP, NPWS, IRCSET, RIA) that examines a broad range of integrative evolutionary questions from functional comparative genomics to population ecology.

Research Interests

Research Interests:

For the past ten years I have investigated the evolutionary relationships among mammals both at the nucleotide and genomic level. Mammals are one of the most diverse groups of vertebrates, with large differences in body size, life span, ecological adaptation, metabolic rate, behavior, reproduction and locomotion. I examine this variation using comparative genomics to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying morphological and physiological adaptation and to help annotate and explain our own genome. Furthermore, I use evolutionary analyses of whole genomes and targeted genes sequenced in divergent species to understand of the patterns of human disease mutations in many inherited visual and auditory diseases. Finally, I investigate how species and populations transform in response to recent environmental changes and use genetic data to inform conservation management plans.

Current research projects running in my laboratory include:

(1) Evolution of sensory perception in mammals and the implications for visual and auditory diseases. This project is funded by a President of Ireland Young Researcher's Award from Science Foundation Ireland. Sensory perception plays one of the most important roles in the survival of an individual and is responsible for many key behaviours e.g. foraging, predator avoidance, mate recognition and communication. Mutations within the sensory genes have been associated with a myriad of debilitating and life threatening illnesses (deafness, blindness) prevalent among humans and domestic animals. My research uses both a wet-laboratory and computational comparative genomic approach to elucidate the molecular evolution of sensory perception in mammals, using bats, the sensory specialists, as an unusual and highly specialised model. The senses of vision, smell and hearing are the key sensory areas under investigation. The objectives of the project are to:(1) identify which genetic mutations and genes are most likely to cause deafness and blindness in humans and other mammals; (2) investigate which parts of the genome control sight, hearing and smell by comparing its evolution in mammals that use these senses in different ways. This project is directly linked with researchers in China, UK and USA.

(2) Conservation, speciation and population structure of the world smallest mammal Craseonycteris thonglongyai (bumble-bee bat) in Thailand and Myanmar. The bumble-bee bat is one of the rarest species in the world. It is the smallest mammal and is only found in two populations, one in Thailand and one in Myanmar. We are currently investigating if these populations represent one or two species by undertaking expeditions in Thailand and Myanmar to catch the bats and subsequently employ cutting-edge molecular technologies and analyses to uncover their evolutionary history. These bumble-bee bat populations act as a 'natural laboratory', and a rare opportunity to study the genomic, morphological and behavioural mechanisms that occur in a 'speciating' mammal living on the edge of metabolic existence. This project involves beneficial collaboration with experienced field biologists in Thailand, Myanmar and the UK and is funded by Science Foundation Ireland.

(3) An investigation into the evolutionary history, population structure, geographic origin and conservation status of Ireland's bats. I am the Director of the newly established Center for Irish Bat Research (CIBR). This is a joint collaboration between UCD and Queen's University Belfast, funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. CIBR scientists investigate the conservation status and geographic origin of four endangered Irish bat species (Horseshoe bat, Whiskered bat, Brandt's bat, Natterer's bat). We use cutting edge field and molecular biology techniques to estimate their numbers and identify key geographic areas and locations within Ireland that must be conserved to ensure the survival of these species.

(4) Phylogenetic relationships and the evolutionary history of bats and other mammals. To understand the evolutionary history of mammals I have amplified and analysed large amounts of genes from a variety of species and used these data to reconstruct their evolutionary relationships. This research has revolutionized and reorganized our understanding of mammalian evolutionary history and has been used a road map by the US government to direct the choice of candidate species for whole genome sequencing. This ongoing research is part of the international mammalian 'Tree of Life Project', which involves leading research scientists from around the globe and is funded by the National Science Foundation, USA.

Book Chapters

Jones, K.E. and Teeling, E.C. ; (2009) 'Mapping ecological and behavioural traits on phylogenies' In: T.H. Kunz and S. Parsons (eds). Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. [Details]

Teeling, E.C.; (2009) 'Chiroptera' In: Time Tree of Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Details]

Springer, M.S., Murphy, W.J., Eizirik, E. Madsen, O., Scally, M., Douady, C.J., Teeling, E.C., Stanhope, M.J., de Jong, W.W. and O'Brien, J.; (2007) 'A molecular classification for the living orders of placental mammals and the phylogenetic placement of Primates' In: Mattew J Ravosa, Marian Dagosto (eds). Primate Origins and Adaptations and Evolution. New York: Springer. [Details]

Peer Reviewed Journals

Puechmaille, S., Wibbelt, G., Korn, V., Fuller, H., Forget, F., Mühldorfer, K., Kurth, A., Bogdanowicz, W., Borel, C., Bosch, T., Cherezy, T., Drebet, M., Görföl, T., Haarsma, A-J., Herhaus, F., Hallart, G., Hammer, M., Jungmann, C., Le Bris, Y., Lutsar, L., Masing, M., Mulkens, B., Passior, K., Starrach, M., Wojtaszewski, A., Zöphel, U. and Teeling, E.C.; (2011) 'Pan-European distribution of white-nose syndrome fungus (Geomyces destructans) not associated with mass mortality'. PLoS ONE, 6(4) e19167 . [DOI] [Details]

Robert W. Meredith, Jan E. Janecka, John Gatesy, Oliver A. Ryder, Colleen A. Fisher, Emma C. Teeling, Alisha Goodbla, Eduardo Eizirik, Taiz L. L. Simão, Tanja Stadler, Daniel L. Rabosky, Rodney L. Honeycutt, John J. Flynn, Colleen M. Ingram, Cynthia Steiner, Tiffani L. Williams, Terence J. Robinson, Angela Burk-Herrick, Michael Westerman, Nadia A. Ayoub, Mark S. Springer, and William J. Murphy; (2011) 'Impacts of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution and KPg Extinction on Mammal Diversification'. Science, . [DOI] [Details]

Puechmaille, S.J., Verdeyroux, P., Fuller, H., Gouilh, M.A., Bekaert, M. and Teeling, E.C.; (2010) 'White-nose syndrome fungus (Geomyces destructans) in bat, France'. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 16 (2):290-293. [Details]

Puechmaille, S., Fuller, H., and Teeling, E.C.; (2011) 'Effect of sample preservation methods on the viability of Geomyces destructans, the fungus associated with white-nose syndrome in bats'. Acta Chiropterologica, 13 (1):217-222. [DOI] [Details]

Buckley, D., Puechmaille, S., Roche, N. and Teeling, E.; (2011) 'A critical assessment of the presence of Barbastella barbastellus and Nyctalus noctula in Ireland with a description of N. leisleri echolocation calls from Ireland'. Hystrix - Italian Journal of Mammalogy, 22 (1):111-127. [Details]

Puechmaille, S., Frick, W.F., Kunz, T.H., Racey, P.A., Voigt, C., Wibbelt, G. and Teeling, E.C.; (2011) 'White nose syndrome: is this emerging disease a threat to European bats?'. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 26 (11):570-576. [DOI] [Details]
Boston, E.S.M., Buckley, D., Bekaert, M., Lundy, M.G., Gager, Y., Scott, D.D., Prodohl, P.A., Montgomery, I., Marnell, F. and Teeling, E.; (2010) 'The status of the cryptic species, Myotis mystacinus (Whiskered bat) and Myotis brandtii (Brandt's bat) in Ireland'. Acta Chiropterologica, 12 (2):457-461. [DOI] [Details]
Hayden, S,Bekaert, M,Crider, TA,Mariani, S,Murphy, WJ,Teeling, EC; (2010) 'Ecological adaptation determines functional mammalian olfactory subgenomes'. Genome Research, 20 :1-9. [DOI] [Details]
Lundy, M., Teeling, E.C., Boston, E.S.M., Scott. D.D., Buckley, D.J., Prodöhl, P.A., Marnell, F. and Montgomery, W.I. ; (2011) 'The Shape of Sound: Elliptic fourier descriptors (EFD) discriminate the echolocation calls of Myotis bats (M. daubentoni, M. nattereri and M. mystacinus)'. Bioacoustics, 20 (2):101-116. [Details]
Puechmaille, S., Soisook, P., Yokubol, M., Piyapan, P., Ar Gouilh, M., Khin, Mie. Mie., Khin Khin Kyaw, Mackie, I., Bumrungsri, S., Dejtaradol, A., Tin Nwe, Si Si Hla Bu., Satasook, C., Bates, P. and Teeling, E.; (2009) 'Population size, distribution, threats and conservation status of two endangered bat species: Craseonycteris thonglongyai and Hipposideros turpis'. Endangered Species Research, 8 :15-23. [DOI] [Details]
Teeling, E.C. ; (2009) 'Hear, hear: the convergent evolution of echolocation in bats?'. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 24 (7):351-354. [DOI] [Details]
Zhang, S., Zhao, H., Rossiter, S.J., Teeling, E.C., Li, C. and Cotton. J.A. ; (2009) 'The evolution of color vision in nocturnal mammals'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106 (22):8980-8985. [DOI] [Details]
Teeling, E.C., Boutros, R., Stokes, N. and Bekaert, M. ; (2009) 'UniPrime2: a web service providing easier Universal Primer design'. Nucleic Acids Research, 37 (Web Server Issue):1-13. [DOI] [Details]
Haussler, D,O'Brien, SJ,Ryder, OA,Barker, FK,Clamp, M,Crawford, AJ,Hanner, R,Hanotte, O,Johnson, WE,McGuire, JA,Miller, W,Murphy, RW,Murphy, WJ,Sheldon, FH,Sinervo, B,Venkatesh, B,Wiley, EO,Allendorf, FW,Amato, G,Baker, CS,Bauer, A,Beja-Pereira, A,Bermingham, E,Bernardi, G,Bonvicino, CR,Brenner, S,Burke, T,Cracraft, J,Diekhans, M,Edwards, S,Ericson, PGP,Estes, J,Fjelsda, J,Flesness, N,Gamble, T,Gaubert, P,Graphodatsky, AS,Graves, JAM,Green, ED,Green, RE,Hackett, S,Hebert, P,Helgen, KM,Joseph, L,Kessing, B,Kingsley, DM,Lewin, HA,Luikart, G,Martelli, P,Moreira, MAM,Nguyen, N,Orti, G,Pike, BL,Rawson, DM,Schuster, SC,Seuanez, HN,Shaffer, HB,Springer, MS,Stuart, JM,Sumner, J,Teeling, E,Vrijenhoek, RC,Ward, RD,Warren, WC,Wayne, R,Williams, TM,Wolfe, ND,Zhang, YP,Graph-Odatsky, A,Johnson, WE,Fel; (2009) 'Genome 10K: A Proposal to Obtain Whole-Genome Sequence for 10 000 Vertebrate Species'. Heredity, 100 :659-674. [DOI] [Details]
Zhao, HB,Ru, BH,Teeling, EC,Faulkes, CG,Zhang, SY,Rossiter, SJ; (2009) 'Rhodopsin Molecular Evolution in Mammals Inhabiting Low Light Environments'. PLoS ONE, 4 . [DOI] [Details]
Boutros, R,Stokes, N,Bekaert, M,Teeling, EC; (2009) 'UniPrime2: a web service providing easier Universal Primer design'. Nucleic acids research, 37 (NA):209-213. [DOI] [Details]
Bekaert, M. and Teeling, E.C. ; (2008) 'UniPrime: a workflow-based platform for improved universal primer design'. Nucleic Acids Research, 36 (10). [Details]
Springer, M.S., Meredith, R.W., Eizirik, E., Teeling, E. and Murphy, W.J. ; (2008) 'Morphology and placental mammal phylogeny'. Systematic Biology, 57 (3):499-503. [Details]
S. J. Puechmaille, P. Piyapan, M. Yokubol, K. Mie Mie, P. J. Bates, C. Satasook, T. Nwe, S. Si. Hla Bu, I. Mackie & E. C. Teeling. ; (2008) 'Characterization and multiplex genotyping of sixteen polymorphic microsatellite loci in the endangered bumblebee-bat, Craseonycteris thonglongyai (Chiroptera: Craseonycteridae)'. Conservation Genetics, 10 :1073-1076. [DOI] [Details]
Springer, M.S., Burk, A, Meredith, R., Eizirik, E., Teeling, E.C., O'Brien, S.J. and Murphy, W.J.; (2007) 'The Adequacy of Morphology for Reconstructing the Early Phylogenetic History of Placental Mammals'. Systematic Biology, 56 (4):673-684. [Details]
Miller-Butterworth, CM,Murphy, WJ,O'Brien, SJ,Jacobs, DS,Springer, MS,Teeling, EC; (2007) 'A family matter: Conclusive resolution of the taxonomic position of the long-fingered bats, Miniopterus'. Journal of Molecular Biology, 24 :1553-1561. [DOI] [Details]
Johnson W.E., Eizirik E., Pecon-Slattery J., Murphy W.J., Antunes, A., Teeling, E. C., O'Brien, S.J.; (2006) 'Explosive Late Miocene Radiation of the Felidae Family'. SCIENCE, 311 :73-77. [Details]
Pereira, MJR; Rebelo, H; Teeling, EC; O'Brien, SJ; Mackie, I; Bu, SSH; Swe, KM; Mie, KM; Bates, PJJ; ; (2006) 'Status of the world's smallest mammal, the bumble-bee bat Craseonycteris thonglongyai, in Myanmar'. Oryx, 40 (4):456-463. [Details]
Jones, G; Teeling, EC; ; (2006) 'The evolution of echolocation in bats'. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21 (3):149-156. [Details]
Pereira, MJR,Rebelo, H,Teeling, EC,O'Brien, SJ,Mackie, I,Bu, SSH,Swe, KM,Mie, KM,Bates, PJJ; (2006) 'Status of the world's smallest mammal, the bumble-bee bat Craseonycteris thonglongyai, in Myanmar'. Oryx, 40 :456-463. [DOI] [Details]
Teeling, EC,Springer, MS,Madsen, O,Bates, P,O'Brien, SJ,Murphy, WJ; (2005) 'A molecular phylogeny for bats illuminates biogeography and the fossil record'. Science, 307 :580-584. [DOI] [Details]
Pearks Wilkerson, A.J., Teeling, E.C., Troyer, J.L., Kahila Bar-Gal, G., Roelke-Parker, M., Marker, L., Pecon-Slattery, J. and O'Brien, S.J. ; (2004) 'SARS-Related coronavirus outbreak and host genetic influence: Lessons from cheetahs'. Current Biology, 17 :R227-R228. [Details]
Teeling, E.C., Madsen, O., Murphy, W.J., Springer, M.S. and O'Brien, J. ; (2003) 'Nuclear gene sequences confirm an ancient link between New Zealand's short tailed bat and South American noctilionid bats'. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 28 :308-319. [Details]
Teeling, E.C., Madsen, O., Stanhope, M.J., de Jong, W.W., Van den Bussche, R. and Springer, M.S.; (2002) 'Microbat paraphyly and the convergent evolution of a key innovation in Old World rhinolophoid microbats'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99 :1432-1436. [Details]
Springer, M.S., Teeling, E.C., Madsen, O., Stanhope, M.J. and de Jong, W.W.; (2001) 'Integrated fossil and molecular data reconstruct bat echolocation'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98 :6241-6246. [Details]
Springer, M.S., Teeling, E.C. and Stanhope, M.J. ; (2001) 'External nasal cartilages in bats: Evidence for microchriopteran monophyly?'. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 8 :231-236. [Details]
Murphy, W.J., Eizirik, E., O'Brien, S.J., Madsen, O., Scally, M., Douady, C., Teeling, E.C., Stanhope, M.J., de Jong, W.W. and Springer, M.S.; (2001) 'Resolution of the early placental mammal radiation using Bayesian phylogenetics'. Science, 294 :2348-2351. [Details]
Teeling, E.C., Scally, M., Kao, D.J., Romangnoli, M.L., Springer, M.S. and Stanhope, M.J.; (2000) 'Molecular evidence regarding the origin of echolocation and flight in bats'. Nature, 403 :188-192. [Details]
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Editorial

Teeling, EC; (2009) Hear, hear: the convergent evolution of echolocation in bats?. Editorial [DOI] [Details]

Honours and Awards

Year: 2006.
Title: President of Ireland's Young Investigator Award

Committees

Committee : UCD SFI Overhead Investment Plan Advisory Group

Committee : SBES Research & Innovation Committee

Employment

Employer: Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, USA
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Employer: School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin
Position: Lecturer in Evolution and Genetics

Education

Year 1995 Institution: University College Dublin
Qualification: BSc Subject:

Year 1996 Institution: University College Dublin
Qualification: MSc Subject:

Year 2001 Institution: Queen's University of Belfast, UK
Qualification: PhD Subject:

Other Activities

Member of the Editorial Board for Journal of Mammalian Evolution

Invited Editor for Bat Research News 2007

Invited Reviewer for NSF Research in Undergraduate Institutions Awards, 2005/2007/2008

Regional Director for Washington D.C. Chapter of BioLink Ireland-USA, 2003-2004