Guy Sella

Sella Lab Website

Evolutionary and population genetics of adaptation and disease

We study the evolutionary processes that give rise to genetic and phenotypic differences between individuals, populations and closely related species. Specifically, we use mathematical models to better understand these processes, and statistical analyses to identify their footprints in data and make inferences about them. Our current work focuses primarily on the evolutionary causes of adaptation and disease, but we also study a variety of other topics. To learn more about the lab, visit our website at https://sellalab.biology.columbia.edu.

• Hayward, L. and G. Sella (2019) Polygenic adaptation after a sudden change in environment. BioRxiv doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/792952.
• Amster, G., Murphy, D., Milligan, W. and G. Sella (2019) Changes in life history and population size can explain relative neutral diversity levels on X and autosomes in extant human populations. bioRxiv doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/763524.
• Amster, G. and G. Sella (2019) Life history effects on neutral diversity levels of autosomes and sex chromosomes. bioRxiv doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/206862.
• Sella, G. and N. Barton (2019) Thinking about the evolution of complex traits in the era of GWAS. Annual Reviews in Genomics and Human Genetics 20: 461-493.
• Fuller, Z., Berg, J., Mostafavi, H., Sella, G. and M. Przeworski (2019) Measuring intolerance to mutation in human genetics. Nature Genetics 51: 772–776.
• Simons, Y., Bullaughey, K., Hudson, R. and G. Sella (2018). A population genetic interpretation of GWAS findings for human quantitative traits. PLoS Biol 16: e2002985.
• Simons, Y. and G. Sella (2016). The impact of recent population history on the deleterious mutation load in humans and close evolutionary relatives. Curr Opin Genetics Dev 41: 150-158.
• Elyashiv E, Sattath S, Hu T, McVicker G, Strutsovsky A, Andolfatto P, Coop G, and G Sella (2016). A genomic map of the effects of linked selection in Drosophila. PLoS Genet 12: e1006130.
• Amster G and G Sella (2016). Life history effects on the molecular clock of autosomes and sex chromosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 113: 1588-1593.
• Simons Y, Turchin M, Pritchard JK* and G Sella* (2014) The deleterious mutation load is insensitive to recent population history. Nat Genet 46: 220–224.
• Hernandez RD, Kelley JL, Elyashiv E, Melton SC, Auton A, McVean G, 1000 Genomes Project, Sella G* and M Przeworski* (2011) Classic selective sweeps were rare in recent human evolution. Science 331: 920-924.
• Sattath S, Elyavish E, Kolodny O, Rinott Y, and G Sella (2011) Pervasive adaptive protein evolution apparent from diversity patterns around amino-acid substitutions in Drosophila simulans. PLoS Genet 7: e1001302.
• Sella G, Petrov DA, Przeworski M, and P Andolfatto (2009) Evidence for Pervasive Natural Selection in Drosophila? PLoS Genet 5: e1000495.
• Macpherson M⁺, Sella G⁺, Davis JC, and DA Petrov (2007) Genome-wide spatial correspondence between non-synonymous divergence and neutral polymorphism reveals extensive adaptation in Drosophila. Genetics 177: 2083-89.
• Sella G and DH Ardell (2006). The Coevolution of Genes and Genetic Codes: Crick’s Frozen Accident Revisited. J Mol Evol 63: 297-313.
• Sella G and AE Hirsh (2005). The Application of Statistical Physics to Evolutionary Biology. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102: 9541-9546.

* Joint senior authors.
⁺ Joint first authors.