David Kingsley is interested in the molecular mechanisms that control evolutionary change in vertebrates. Kingsley and his team focus on such questions as what specific gene changes produce evolutionary differences seen in nature, what kinds of mutations occurred in those genes, how predictable evolution is, and how evolution has produced characteristics that make us uniquely human. The team studies these questions in mice, stickleback fish, and people, using a variety of genetic and genomic methods.
HHMI researchers find that a single-letter change in the genetic code is enough to generate blond hair in humans. As fish in different parts of the world adapted to live in fresh water, the same sites in the genome were changed time and again.