Wesley Warren
Professor of Genomics
Animal Sciences, Surgery,
warrenwc@missouri.edu
(573) 882-2559
Research Emphasis
Dr. Warren is a recognized global leader in the field of comparative genomics with 27 years of impactful research initiatives balanced over this time in both the biopharmaceutical industry and academia. A strong theme during this time has been looking at biology with a molecular lens. During his tenure at the McDonnell Genome Institute and now the University of Missouri, he has published over 181 peer-reviewed manuscripts. His scientific journey started with basic animal physiology and has progressed to whole genome analysis of a broad spectrum of species. Dr. Warren’s research involves the use of whole genome comparative methods to examine genetic adaptation events within existing or newly discovered model organisms as a means to better understand human biology. Through his varied roles as PI, co-PI, key investigator or key personnel on several NSF, USDA or NIH-funded grants, he has created a solid foundation in the field of genomics as illustrated by his roles in sequencing, assembling and characterizing genomes throughout a broad span of Darwins tree of life. Many of his studies have resulted in highly impactful outcomes benefiting scientific understanding of these species as noted in broadly read journals such as Nature and Science. Today the availability of large volumes of genome sequence data has fundamentally changed our approach to trait discovery, whether it be in the form of genome assemblies, population sequencing, or gene expression variation in bulk or at single cell resolution. In summary, Dr. Warren’s contribution to understanding the genetic blueprints of life, genomes, has substantially enlightened the ambiguous path that connects genes to their traits.
Research Interests
- Comparative genomics
- Single cell transcriptome analysis
- Identification of disease genes
Education
- PhD 1990, Molecular endocrinology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
- MS 1986, Reproductive physiology, Clemson University
- BS 1984, Animal sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Selected Publications
Schmitz J, Noll A, Raabe CA, Churakov G, Voss R, Kiefmann M, Rozhdestvensky T, Brosius J, Baertsch R, Clawson H, Roos C, Zimin A, Minx P, Montague MJ, Wilson RK, Warren WC. 2016. Genome sequence of the basal haplorrhine primate Tarsius syrichta reveals unusual insertions. Nat Commun. 7:12997.
Reid NM, Proestou DA, Clark BW, Warren WC, Colbourne JK, Shaw JR, Karchner SI, Hahn ME, Nacci D, Oleksiak MF, Crawford DL, Whitehead A. 2016. The genomic landscape of rapid repeated evolutionary adaptation to toxic pollution in wild fish. Science. 354(6317):1305-1308.
Jasinska AJ, Zelaya I, Service SK, Peterson CB, Cantor RM, Choi OW, DeYoung J, Eskin E, Fairbanks LA, Fears S, Furterer AE, Huang YS, Ramensky V, Schmitt CA, Svardal H, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, Villar D, Aken BL, Flicek P, Nag R, Wong ES, Blangero J, Dyer TD, Bogomolov M, Benjamini Y, Weinstock GM, Dewar K, Sabatti C, Wilson RK, Jentsch JD, Warren W, Coppola G, Woods RP, Freimer NB. 2017. Genetic variation and gene expression across multiple tissues and developmental stages in a nonhuman primate. Nat Genet. Dec;49(12):1714-1721.
Warren WC, García-Pérez R, Xu S, Lampert KP, Chalopin D, Stöck M, Loewe L, Lu Y, Kuderna L, Minx P, Montague MJ, Tomlinson C, Hillier LW, Murphy DN, Wang J, Wang Z, Garcia CM, Thomas GCW, Volff JN, Farias F, Aken B, Walter RB, Pruitt KD, Marques-Bonet T, Hahn MW, Kneitz S, Lynch M, Schartl M. 2018. Clonal polymorphism and high heterozygosity in the celibate genome of the Amazon molly. Nat Ecol Evol. 2 (4):669-679.
Audano PA, Sulovari A, Graves-Lindsay TA, Cantsilieris S, Sorensen M, Welch AE, Dougherty ML, Nelson BJ, Shah A, Dutcher SK, Warren WC, Magrini V, McGrath SD, Li YI, Wilson RK, Eichler EE. 2019. Characterizing the Major Structural Variant Alleles of the Human Genome. Cell. Jan 24;176(3):663-675.
Kim BM, Amores A, Kang S, Ahn DH, Kim JH, Kim IC, Lee JH, Lee SG, Lee H, Lee J, Kim HW, Desvignes T, Batzel P, Sydes J, Titus T, Wilson CA, Catchen JM, Warren WC, Schartl M, Detrich HW 3rd, Postlethwait JH, Park H. 2019. Antarctic blackfin icefish genome reveals adaptations to extreme environments. Nat Ecol Evol. 3:469-478.
Hughes JF, Skaletsky H, Pyntikova T, Koutseva N, Raudsepp T, Brown LG, Bellott DW, Cho TJ, Dugan-Rocha S, Khan Z, Kremitzki C, Fronick C, Graves-Lindsay TA, Fulton L, Warren WC, Wilson RK, Owens E, Womack JE, Murphy WJ, Muzny DM, Worley KC, Chowdhary BP, Gibbs RA, Page DC. 2020. Sequence analysis in Bos taurus reveals pervasiveness of X-Y arms races in mammalian lineages. Genome Res. 30 (12): 1716-1726.
Warren WC, Harris RA, Haukness M, Fiddes IT, Murali SC, Fernandes J, Dishuck PC, Storer JM, Raveendran M, Hillier LW, Porubsky D, Mao Y, Gordon D, Vollger MR, Lewis AP, Munson KM, DeVogelaere E, Armstrong J, Diekhans M, Walker JA, Tomlinson C, Graves-Lindsay TA, Kremitzki M, Salama SR, Audano PA, Escalona M, Maurer NW, Antonacci F, Mercuri L, Maggiolini FAM, Catacchio CR, Underwood JG, O’Connor DH, Sanders AD, Korbel JO, Ferguson B, Kubisch HM, Picker L, Kalin NH, Rosene D, Levine J, Abbott DH, Gray SB, Sanchez MM, Kovacs-Balint ZA, Kemnitz JW, Thomasy SM, Roberts JA, Kinnally EL, Capitanio JP, Skene JHP, Platt M, Cole SA, Green RE, Ventura M, Wiseman RW, Paten B, Batzer MA, Rogers J, Eichler EE. 2020. Sequence diversity analyses of an improved rhesus macaque genome enhance its biomedical utility. Science. Dec 18; 370(6523).
Warren WC, Boggs TE, Borowsky R, Carlson BM, Ferrufino E, Gross JB, Hillier L, Hu Z, Keene AC, Kenzior A, Kowalko JE, Tomlinson C, Kremitzki M, Lemieux ME, Graves-Lindsay T, McGaugh SE, Miller JT, Mommersteeg MTM, Moran RL, Peuß R, Rice ES, Riddle MR, Sifuentes-Romero I, Stanhope BA, Tabin CJ, Thakur S, Yamamoto Y, Rohner N. 2021. A chromosome-level genome of Astyanax mexicanus surface fish for comparing population-specific genetic differences contributing to trait evolution. Nat Commun. Mar 4;12(1):1447.
Rodney AR, Buckley RM, Fulton RS, Fronick C, Richmond T, Helps CR, Pantke P, Trent DJ, Vernau KM, Munday JS, Lewin AC, Middleton R, Lyons LA, Warren WC. 2021. A domestic cat whole exome sequencing resource for trait discovery. Sci Rep. Mar 30;11:7159.
