Tobias Lenz

Visiting Fellow

email: mail(at)tobiaslenz.de

Research Interests:

Recently I have been analysing MHC variability in the Malaysian Long-tailed Giant Rat (Leopoldamys sabanus). I used SSCP-Electrophoresis to analyse the allele diversity in L. sabanus populations. Additionally I compared populations from differently degraded habitats in tropical lowland rainforests on Borneo / Malaysia to measure the impact of habitat degradation on the genetic variability.

During my stay at the Edwards Lab I worked on MHC class I genes in the House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) and I tried to analyse the influence of Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis, an epidemic which has recently spread across the Eastern North American House Finch populations, on the MHC allele pool in these populations. A shift in the allele pool due to the epidemic could indicate direct interaction between specific alleles and the pathogen.

The purpose of my visit to the Edwards Lab was to gain more experience and learn new methods that I can use for my PhD project.