Genomics Division

The Genomics Division focuses on the study of the molecular building blocks of life (DNA, RNA and proteins), their role in biological functions, and the ecological and evolutionary processes through which they shape biodiversity.

The Genomics Division covers four main research areas: molecular ecology, molecular biology, aquaculture genomics and developmental biology. 

We apply molecular analyses to study biological functions (e.g. reproduction, development, growth, the immune system, gene regulation, and epigenetics), as well as the natural environment (e.g. biodiversity, the distribution of genetic variation in natural populations, natural and sexual selection, local adaptation, and the consequences of environmental change).

Our research has applications in biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and aquaculture. 

The Genomics Division manages the faculty's DeepSeq facility, a platform for high-throughput DNA sequencing, available to all divisions. 

Sequencing

DeepSeq is the high throughput sequencing facility at Nord University for the exploration of genomes and transcriptomes.

Read more about DeepSeq

Head of division: Joost Andre Raeymaekers

Research areas

  • The field of molecular ecology at FBA makes use of molecular genetic techniques to address questions in ecology, evolution, behaviour, and conservation. One important topic is the study of the distribution of genetic variation in natural populations of aquatic organisms (e.g., stickleback fishes, Littorina snails and Lake Tanganyika sardines) to understand how populations manage to adapt to natural and human-induced environmental change. We also study environmental DNA to investigate the species diversity and functioning of marine benthic communities in Northern Norway (e.g., amphipods and starfish).

    Head of research group: Truls Borg Moum

  • Molecular biology at FBA covers molecular immunology, genome biology and RNA biology. Within molecular immunology, the overall goal is to understand how stressors modulate the immune system, as well as the interplay between pathogen and host especially in mucosal surfaces. Within genome biology, we are active both in the generation and analysis of novel genomes and making use of existing resources to study how genomes and their sizes have evolved across the vertebrates. In RNA biology, we study extremely diverged eukaryotes such as slime molds, sea anemones and corals to understand how introns and other non-coding RNA have emerged and evolved.

    Head of research group: Lars Martin Jakt

  • The study of developmental biology at FBA targets the molecular mechanisms driving gamete formation and early embryonic development, with a focus on regulatory transcriptome and its modifications. Currently, our main goal is to find out how the initial parental information, contained in gametes, is executed through the earliest stages of development.

    Head of research group: Jarle Tryti Nordeide

  • Aquaculture genomics at FBA centres on the question why many fishes keep growing throughout their lives (unlike mammals) and how we can modulate their sexual maturation and growth by manipulation of environmental and nutritional conditions. Another important topic is fish health, with a strong focus on innate immunity.

    Head of research group: Jorge Manuel de Oliveira Fernandes

Selected research projects

  • The quality of the seafloor habitat is an important barometer for marine ecosystem health. In order to accurately measure the quality, GEANS will mainstream the implementation of fast, accurate and cost-effective DNA-based assessments.

  • Periwinkles are coastal snails that can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. With the warming climate, they can give us knowledge about how species can adapt to extreme environments.

    In this project, we study populations of Littorina saxatilis, the rough periwinkle, from warm seawater in Spain and Italy, to colder waters along the coasts of Great Britain, Iceland and Norway and to the Arctic part of Russia.

    This FRIPRO project has received 11 million Norwegian kroner from the Research Council of Norway (RCN).

  • This cutting-edge project investigates regulatory mechanisms governing the transfer, modifications, and execution of parental developmental instruction at the onset of embryonic development. Zebrafish and medaka are vertebrate animal models. ​

  • EPIFISH is a scientifically innovative and timely project that will address fish domestication and selection from a new perspective using a multidisciplinary approach. The rapid pace of substantial phenotypic changes during adaptation to new environmental conditions in fish undergoing domestication raises the original hypothesis that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in this process. Thus, the overarching aim of EPIFISH is to ascertain the importance of epigenetics in fish domestication using the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as model species.

    The project has an overall budget of NOK 25 million over five years, of which the European Research Council (ERC) will fund NOK 20 million. 

  • EPICOD is a timely initiative aiming to decipher the fundamental process of puberty in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Discerning the early onset of puberty in farmed cod, will enable its sustainable and effective production, provide food security and conserve natural resources and habitats. Because puberty is largely affected by external stimuli, we hypothesize that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in this process. To dissect cellular heterogeneity of key tissues involved in stimuli reception and hormonal secretion, we are using state-of-the-art single-cell epigenetic and transcriptomic assays as well as multidisciplinary approaches and cross-species validations.

    The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR) with a budget of NOK 12 million from July 2023 to June 2028.