Ph.D.:	Mathematics, Tel Aviv University, 2001
Job Title:	Senior Lecturer
Phone:	(Office) +972-3-640-9831 (Lab) +972-3-640-6886
E-mail:	lilach.hadany@gmail.com lhadany@post.tau.ac.il
Room#:	Brittainia 409
	Lab Homepage

Research Interests

Selected Publications

Full Publications

Courses

Research Interests

Population Genetics, Evolutionary Theory

My main research interest is variation in nature, and in particular the evolution of the mechanisms that generate variation: recombination, sexual reproduction, mutation, migration, outcrossing, alternative splicing, polyandry, and even early death. Using analytical models, computer simulations, and sometimes experiments we try to understand the forces driving variation, the patterns of variation expected in natural poplulations, and the evolutionary consequences of these patterns.

Major research projects:

1) The plasticity of variation. Assuming that an organism has some indication of its well-being in a given environment, we predict that the generation of variation (e.g., recombination rate) would evolve to be associated with that information: with the state of the organism, its sex, its age, and with environmental cues. In particular, we expect the generation of variation to increase with indications of low fitness, such as stress. We investigate the expected patterns and their implications to host-parasite interactions, stressful environments, and stress-related diseases.

2) The evolution of genome structure. How do recombination, mutation, and splicing evolve and co-evolve? When is sexual reproduction advantageous in comparison with asexuality? What are the implications to the distribution of recombination hotspots, mutation hotspots, and introns?

3) The evolution of complex traits. An open question in evolutionary biology is how a species can evolve from one co-adapted gene complex to a better one, crossing an adaptive 'valley' of less fit genotypes. We study how such adaptive peak-shifts are affected by genetic mixing and by heterogeneity of the environment.

4) Variation and selection within the organism. Most organisms are subject to evolution at more than one level: conflicts of interest can occur between branches of a tree, between different lineages within the germ line, and within the cells in the germ line themselves. A single eukaryotic cell is a community, including organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplast, transposable elements, and the 'host' DNA. We study the interactions between these different evolutionary levels, and their implications to the higher levels: the entire organism and the population.

Selected Publications

Ram, Y. and Hadany, L. The evolution of stress-induced hypermutation in asexual populations.
Submitted to Evolution.

Barzel, A., Obolski, U., Gogarten, P., Kupiec, M. and Hadany, L. 2011. Home and Away: The evolutionary dynamics of homing endonucleases. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11:324. PDF

Fishman, M.A. and Hadany, L. 2010. Plant–pollinator population dynamics. Theor. Pop. Biol. 78, 270-277. PDF

Hadany, L. and Otto, S.P. 2009 Condition-dependent sex and the rate of adaptation. Am. Nat. 174 Suppl.1, S71–S78. PDF

Gonzalez, C., Hadany, L., Ponder, R.G., Price, M., Hastings, P.J., Rosenberg , S.M. 2008. Mutability and Importance of a Hypermutable Cell Subpopulation that Produces Stress-Induced Mutants in Escherichia coli. PLoS Genetics. PLoS Genetics 4(10): e1000208. PDF

Leontiev, L., Maury, W., and Hadany, L.* 2008. Drug-induced superinfection in HIV and the evolution of drug resistance. Infection, Genetics, and Evolution , 8, 40-50. PDF

Hadany, L. and Beker, T. 2007. Sexual selection and the evolution of obligatory sex. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7 : 245. PDF

Hadany, L. and Otto, S.P. 2007. The evolution of condition-dependent sex in the face of high costs. Genetics , 176: 1713–1727. PDF

Hadany, L. , Beker, T., Eshel, I. , and Feldman, M. W. 2006. Why is stress so deadly? An evolutionary perspective. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lon. B , 273, 881-885. PDF

Hadany, L. and Feldman, M.W. 2005. Evolutionary traction: the cost of adaptation and the evolution of sex. J. Evol. Biol. 18, 309-314. PDF

Hadany, L., Eshel, I., and Motro, U. 2004. No place like home: Competition, dispersal, and complex adaptation. J. Evol. Biol. 17, 1328-1336.

Hadany, L. and Beker, T. 2003. On the evolutionary advantage of fitness associated recombination. Genetics 165, 2167-2179. PDF

Hadany, L. 2003. Adaptive peak shifts in a heterogenous environment. Theor. Pop. Biol. 63, 41-51. PDF

Hadany, L. and Beker, T. 2003. Fitness associated recombination on rugged adaptive landscapes. J. Evol. Biol. 16, 862-870. PDF

Hadany, L. 2001. A conflict between two evolutionary levels in trees. J. Theor. Biol. 208, 507-521. PDF

Reviews

Hadany, L. On the role of stress in evolution. 2009. In: STRESS: from molecules to behavior. Eds: Soreq, H., Friedman, A., Kaufer, D. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 3-17.

Hadany, L. and Comeron, J.M. 2008. Why are sex and recombination so common? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1133: 26–43. PDF

Courses

1. Population genetics and the theory of evolution

2. Evolution

Full Publications

Ram, Y. and Hadany, L. The evolution of stress-induced hypermutation in asexual populations.
Submitted to Evolution.

Leontiev, L. and Hadany, L. 2010. Regulated superinfection may help HIV adaptation on rugged landscapes.
Infection, Genetics, and Evolution, 10, 505-510. PDF

Hadany, L. and Otto, S.P. 2009 Condition-dependent sex and the rate of adaptation. Am. Nat. 174 Suppl.1, S71–S78. PDF

Leontiev, L., Maury, W., and Hadany, L.* 2008. Drug-induced superinfection in HIV and the evolution of drug resistance. Infection, Genetics, and Evolution , 8, 40-50. PDF

Kark, S., Hadany, L., Safriel, U.N., Noy-Meir, I. , Eldredge, N., Tabarroni, C., and Randi, E. H. 2008. How does genetic diversity change towards the species edge? Evol. Ecol. Res. 10, 391-414.

Hadany, L. and Beker, T. 2007. Sexual selection and the evolution of obligatory sex. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7 : 245. PDF

Hadany, L. and Otto, S.P. 2007. The evolution of condition-dependent sex in the face of high costs. Genetics , 176: 1713–1727. PDF

Hadany, L. , Beker, T., Eshel, I. , and Feldman, M. W. 2006. Why is stress so deadly? An evolutionary perspective. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lon. B , 273, 881-885. PDF

Hadany, L. and Feldman, M.W. 2005. Evolutionary traction: the cost of adaptation and the evolution of sex. J. Evol. Biol. 18, 309-314. PDF

Agrawal, A., Hadany, L., and Otto, S. P. 2005. The evolution of plastic recombination rates. Genetics 171, 803-812.

Hadany, L., Eshel, I., and Motro, U. 2004. No place like home: Competition, dispersal, and complex adaptation. J. Evol. Biol. 17, 1328-1336.

Hadany, L. and Beker, T. 2003. On the evolutionary advantage of fitness associated recombination. Genetics 165, 2167-2179. PDF

Hadany, L. 2003. Adaptive peak shifts in a heterogenous environment. Theor. Pop. Biol. 63, 41-51. PDF

Hadany, L. and Beker, T. 2003. Fitness associated recombination on rugged adaptive landscapes. J. Evol. Biol. 16, 862-870. PDF

Beker, T. and Hadany, L. 2002. Noise and elitism in evolutionary computation. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications , vol. 87, 193-201.

Hadany, L. 2001. A conflict between two evolutionary levels in trees. J. Theor. Biol. 208, 507-521. PDF

Reviews

Hadany, L. and Comeron, J.M. 2008. Why are sex and recombination so common? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1133: 26–43. PDF

Hadany, L. On the role of stress in evolution. 2009. In: STRESS: from molecules to behavior. Eds: Soreq, H., Friedman, A., Kaufer, D. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 3-17.