Research interests

My interest in Lepidoptera is very broad, but my research focuses on the evolution of Polyommatini (Lycaenidae).

One of my current projects is the molecular phylogeny of the Palaearctic genera Lysandra Hemming, 1933 and Plebicula Higgins, 1969. These two genera present a model system to study broad questions of evolutionary biology. A phylogeny will help to clarify the systematics of these two genera and their relatives in the section Polyommatus, which constitutes one of the most taxonomically difficult groups in all of the Papilionoidea. By mapping karyotype diversity onto this phylogeny, we will assess patterns of chromosome evolution. This will provide a foundation for subsequent studies of possible mechanisms maintaining the extraordinarily high level of karyotypic variability exhibited by these genera, as well as the evolutionary consequences of that variability.

My other project is the evolution and phylogeography of the Neotropical Polyommatini. A molecular phylogenetic study will enable us to clarify the origin and analyze the diversification of this group of butterflies in Central and South America. We will test Vladimir Nabokov's hypothesis that the South American Polyommatini colonized the Neotropics from North America, becoming extinct in the Nearctic region afterwards. Other compelling hypotheses are not excluded, like a much older Gondwanan origin and strong affinities between Neotropical and Old World taxa. Biogeographic analysis based on these data will also provide insights regarding migration, colonization and radiation events within South America.

As I was born in a town close to Barcelona, I am also deeply interested in the biology, distribution and conservation of the butterflies of the Mediterranean region.

To visit my web page about the moths and butterflies on Universitat AutÚnoma de Barcelona campus go here

 

Education

(1997-2001)    Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universitat AutÚnoma de Barcelona (Spain).

(1991-1996)    B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universitat AutÚnoma de Barcelona (Spain).

Honors and grants

(2004-2005)   Green Fund Fellowship

(2002-2004)   Fulbright Postdoctoral Grant

(2002)             Collecting Grant, Putnam Expedition Grant

(2001)             Award with Special Distinction for Ph.D. thesis, Universitat AutÚnoma de Barcelona

(2001)             Ph. D. Fellowship, Universitat AutÚnoma de Barcelona

(1997-2000)      Ph. D. Fellowship, Autonomous Government of Catalonia

(1996)             Award with Special Distinction for B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universitat AutÚnoma de Barcelona

(1996)             Erasmus Fellowship, European Community

(1995-1996)   Undergraduate Fellowship, Education and Science Ministry of Spain

 

Publications

Braby, M.F., Vila, R. & Pierce, N.E. Molecular phylogeny and systematics of the Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea): higher classification and biogeography. (Submitted)

 

Lukhtanov, V.A., Vila, R. & Kandul, N.P. Rearrangement of the Agrodiaetus dolus species group (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) using a new cytological approach and molecular phylogenetics. (Submitted)

 

Wahlberg, N., Braby, M.F., Brower, A.V.Z., de Jong, R., Lee, M.-M., Nylin, S., Pierce, N.E., Sperling, F.A.H., Vila, R., Warren, A.D. & Zakharov, E. Synergistic effects of combining morphological and molecular data in resolving the phylogeny of butterflies and skippers. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences 272: 1577-1586.

 

Als, T.D.*, Vila, R.*, Kandul, N.P., Nash, D.R., Yen, S.-H., Hsu, Y.-F., Mignault, A.A., Boomsma, J.J. & Pierce, N.E. (2004).  The evolution of alternative parasitic life histories in Large Blue butterflies. Nature 432: 386-390. *Co-first authors.

 

Vila, R., PiÒas, F. & Clavijo, J.A. (2004).  A new species of Diaphania H¸bner, 1818 from Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae). Zootaxa 539: 1-8.

 

Lamas, G. & Vila, R. (2004). Rediscovery of Mimoniades baroni (Godman & Salvin, 1895) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Pyrrhopyginae). Revista Peruana de BiologÌa 11(1): 95-98.

 

Vila, R., Viader, S. & Jubany, J. (2003).  Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758) i L. reali (Reissinger, 1989): dues espËcies ìbessonesî a Catalunya i Andorra (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Butll. Soc. Cat. Lep. 90: 25-47.

 

Ponte, I., Vila, R. & Suau, P. (2003). Sequence complexity of histone H1 subtypes. Mol. Biol. Evol. 20 (3): 371-380. [Link abstract: http://mbe.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/3/371]

 

Vila, R., Ponte, I., JimÈnez, M.A., Rico, M & Suau, P (2002). An inducible helix-Gly-Gly-helix motif in the N-terminal domain of histone H1e: a CD and NMR study. Protein Science 11 (2): 214-220. [Link abstract: http://www.proteinscience.org/cgi/content/abstract/11/2/214]

 

Ponte, I., Vila, R. & Suau, P. (2002). Expression, structure and evolution of H1 linker histones. Contributions to Science 2 (2): 225-235. [link abstract:  http://www.cat-science.com./admin/articles/index_020202.html#2 ] [link PDF: http://www.cat-science.com./admin/articles/pdfs/020202/6_research_expression.pdf]

 

Vila, R., Ponte, I., Collado, M., Arrondo, J.L.R., JimÈnez, M.A., Rico, M. & Suau, P. (2001). DNA-induced alpha-helical structure in the NH₂-terminal domain of histone H1. J. Biol. Chem. 276 (49): 46429-46435. [link abstract: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/276/49/46429] [link PDF: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/276/49/46429]

 

Vila, R., Ponte, I., Collado, M., Arrondo, J.L.R. & Suau, P. (2001). Induction of secondary structure in a COOH-terminal peptide of histone H1 by interaction with the DNA: an infrared spectroscopy study. J. Biol. Chem. 276 (33): 30898-30903. [link abstract: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/276/33/30898] [link PDF:  http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/276/33/30898 ] 

 

Vila, R., Ponte, I., JimÈnez, M.A., Rico, M. & Suau, P (2000). A helix-turn motif in the C-terminal domain of histone H1. Protein Science 9 (4): 627-636. [link abstract: http://www.proteinscience.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/627]

 

Castells, M., Nebot, M.R., Vila, L., Vila, R., Monje, J.L. & Picas, E. (1994). Itinerari de la Natura a La Garriga: el riu Congost i el torrent dels Tremolencs. Illustrations: Vila, R. and Vila, L. Published by Departament díEnsenyament de la Generalitat de Catalunya i líAjuntament de La Garriga.

 

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