# Brandon Gaut

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**Brandon Stuart Gaut** is an American [evolutionary biologist](/source/Evolutionary_biology) and [geneticist](/source/Geneticist) who works as a Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the [University of California, Irvine](/source/University_of_California,_Irvine).[1]

Gaut's research focuses on the evolution of genetic variation in populations and its impact on [adaptation](/source/Adaptation), [speciation](/source/Speciation), and the maintenance of biodiversity, as well as the evolution of [transposable elements](/source/Transposable_element) and their role in shaping [genetic architecture](/source/Genetic_architecture) and [epigenetic](/source/Epigenetics) state in plants.[2][3]

## Education

Gaut earned his undergraduate degree from [UC Berkeley](/source/University_of_California,_Berkeley) in 1985 and his Ph.D. in [Genetics](/source/Genetics) from [UC Riverside](/source/University_of_California,_Riverside) from 1988–1992, under the mentorship of [Michael T. Clegg](/source/Michael_T._Clegg).[4] He was a postdoc at [NC State University](/source/North_Carolina_State_University) in the Department of Statistics under [Bruce Weir](/source/Bruce_Weir) until 1995 before becoming an assistant professor at [Rutgers University](/source/Rutgers_University) in 1995. He moved to [UC Irvine](/source/University_of_California,_Irvine) in 1998 and was named a [Distinguished professor](/source/Distinguished_professor) in 2020.[5]

## Career

Gaut served as the president-elect, president and past-president for the [Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution](/source/Society_for_Molecular_Biology_and_Evolution) from 2013 to 2015.[6] He is Editor-in-Chief for *[Molecular Biology and Evolution](/source/Molecular_Biology_and_Evolution)*.[7] He served administrative roles as Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from 2006–2013[4] and the Associate Dean for Research in the School of Biological Sciences from 2017–2022.[citation needed]

Gaut was named the Professor of the Year in 2008 at UC Irvine and voted an Outstanding Professor by the senior class.[4] In 2025, he was awarded the inaugural [Genetics Society of America](/source/Genetics_Society_of_America) Mentorship Award.[8][9]

## Research

Gaut's early work provided several fundamental ideas about the genetic effects of [domestication](/source/Domestication) on crop plants; with postdoctoral scholar [Adam Eyre-Walker](/source/Adam_Eyre-Walker), he used [coalescent theory](/source/Coalescent_theory)-based models to establish the occurrence of [genetic bottlenecks](/source/Genetic_bottleneck) during the domestication of [maize](/source/Maize),[10] a phenomenon which is now thought to influence the diversity and genome content of many agriculturally important species.[11] He later adopted these models to initiate the search for genes that have been selected through the domestication process, estimating that around 1,200 maize genes (~3% of loci) were involved in its domestication.[12] This work established basic approaches that have been adopted across numerous domesticated species.[13]

Together with [John Doebley](/source/John_Doebley), Gaut provided the first [DNA sequence](/source/DNA_sequence)-based estimates for the time of [polyploidization](/source/Ploidy) event in a plant,[14][15] and he has contributed to basic methods used in evolutionary studies, such as the codon model of evolution.[16] Later he characterized important epigenetic phenomena, showing that [DNA methylation](/source/DNA_methylation) of transposable elements affects [gene expression](/source/Gene_expression) on a genome-wide scale and is a component of selective load.[17][18]

Gaut's more recent research has focused on genome evolution in [grapes](/source/Grape), estimating the demographic history of grape domestication and showing that cultivated grapes possess an abundance of deleterious mutations in a heterozygous state compared to their wild progenitor species,[19] likely due to their history of clonal propagation.[20] His lab also identified loci which may confer resistance to the agriculturally destructive bacterium *[Xylella fastidiosa](/source/Xylella_fastidiosa)*.[21][22]

## Selected publications

- Muse, S. V. & Gaut, B. S. (September 1994). "A likelihood approach for comparing synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitution rates, with application to the chloroplast genome.". *Molecular Biology and Evolution*. **11** (5): 715–724. [doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040152](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040152). [ISSN 1537-1719](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1537-1719). [PMID 7968485](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7968485)
- Doebley, John F.; Gaut, Brandon S.; Smith, Bruce D. (December 2006). "The Molecular Genetics of Crop Domestication". *Cell*. **127** (7): 1309–1321. [doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.12.006](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2006.12.006). [ISSN 0092-8674](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0092-8674). [PMID 17190597](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17190597). [S2CID 278993](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:278993)
- Gaut, Brandon S. & Doebley, John F. (1997-06-24). "DNA sequence evidence for the segmental allotetraploid origin of maize". *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*. **94** (13): 6809–6814. [Bibcode:1997PNAS...94.6809G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997PNAS...94.6809G). [doi:10.1073/pnas.94.13.6809](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.13.6809). [ISSN 0027-8424](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0027-8424). [PMC 21240](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC21240). [PMID 11038553](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11038553)
- Yu, Jianming; Pressoir, Gael; Briggs, William H.; Vroh Bi, Irie; Yamasaki, Masanori; Doebley, John F.; McMullen, Michael D.; Gaut, Brandon S.; Nielsen, Dahlia M.; Holland, James B.; Kresovich, Stephen; Buckler, Edward S. (February 2006). ["A unified mixed-model method for association mapping that accounts for multiple levels of relatedness"](https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1702). *Nature Genetics*. **38** (2): 203–208. [doi:10.1038/ng1702](https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1702). [ISSN 1546-1718](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1546-1718). [PMID 16380716](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16380716). [S2CID 8507433](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:8507433)
- Wright, Stephen I.; Bi, Irie Vroh; Schroeder, Steve G.; Yamasaki, Masanori; Doebley, John F.; McMullen, Michael D.; Gaut, Brandon S. (2005-05-27). ["The Effects of Artificial Selection on the Maize Genome"](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1107891). *Science*. **308** (5726): 1310–1314. [doi:10.1126/science.1107891](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107891). [ISSN 0036-8075](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0036-8075). [PMID 15919994](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15919994). [S2CID 25581643](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:25581643)

## References

1. ["UC Irvine - Faculty Profile System"](https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=4561). *faculty.uci.edu*. Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. ["Brandon Gaut"](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1nr7TU0AAAAJ&hl=en). *scholar.google.com*. Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. Conduct, Committee on Gene Drive Research in Non-Human Organisms: Recommendations for Responsible; Sciences, Board on Life; Studies, Division on Earth and Life; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering (2016-07-28), ["Biographical Sketches of Committee Members"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379289/), *Gene Drives on the Horizon: Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values*, National Academies Press (US), retrieved 2023-09-17

1. ["In Evolution's Garden"](https://www.the-scientist.com/profile/in-evolutions-garden-39237). *The Scientist Magazine*. Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. ["Distinguished Professor – Academic Personnel"](https://ap.uci.edu/titles-of-distinction/distinguished-professor/). Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. "SMBE Editors and Council". *Molecular Biology and Evolution*. **31** (12): i3. 2014-12-01. [doi:10.1093/molbev/msu015](https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msu015). [ISSN 0737-4038](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0737-4038)

1. ["About MBE"](https://academic.oup.com/mbe). *academic.oup.com*. Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. ["Distinguished professor proves effective mentorship is both art and science"](https://genestogenomes.org/distinguished-professor-proves-effective-mentorship-is-both-art-and-science/). *Genes to Genomes*. Retrieved 2025-05-27.

1. ["Genetics Society of America Mentorship Award"](https://genetics-gsa.org/awards/gsa-mentorship-award/). *Genetics Society of America*. Retrieved 2025-05-27.

1. Buckler, Ed. ["Maize Domestication"](https://www.maizegenetics.net/copy-of-hybrid-vigor-1). *bucklerlab*. Retrieved 2025-05-27.

1. Meyer, Rachel S. & Purugganan, Michael D. (December 2013). ["Evolution of crop species: genetics of domestication and diversification"](https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3605). *Nature Reviews Genetics*. **14** (12): 840–852. [doi:10.1038/nrg3605](https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg3605). [ISSN 1471-0064](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1471-0064). [PMID 24240513](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24240513). [S2CID 529535](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:529535)

1. Wright, Stephen I.; Bi, Irie Vroh; Schroeder, Steve G.; Yamasaki, Masanori; Doebley, John F.; McMullen, Michael D.; Gaut, Brandon S. (2005-05-27). ["The Effects of Artificial Selection on the Maize Genome"](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1107891). *Science*. **308** (5726): 1310–1314. [doi:10.1126/science.1107891](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107891). [ISSN 0036-8075](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0036-8075). [PMID 15919994](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15919994). [S2CID 25581643](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:25581643)

1. Morrell, Peter L.; Buckler, Edward S.; Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey (February 2012). ["Crop genomics: advances and applications"](https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3097). *Nature Reviews Genetics*. **13** (2): 85–96. [doi:10.1038/nrg3097](https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg3097). [ISSN 1471-0064](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1471-0064). [PMID 22207165](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22207165). [S2CID 13358998](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:13358998)

1. Gaut, Brandon S. & Doebley, John F. (1997-06-24). "DNA sequence evidence for the segmental allotetraploid origin of maize". *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*. **94** (13): 6809–6814. [Bibcode:1997PNAS...94.6809G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997PNAS...94.6809G). [doi:10.1073/pnas.94.13.6809](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.13.6809). [ISSN 0027-8424](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0027-8424). [PMC 21240](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC21240). [PMID 11038553](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11038553)

1. Force, Allan; Lynch, Michael; Pickett, Bryan; Amores, Angel; Yan, Yi-lin; Postlethwait, John (1999). ["Preservation of Duplicate Genes by Complementary, Degenerative Mutations"](https://academic.oup.com/genetics/article/151/4/1531/6047715). *Genetics*. **151** (4): 1531–1545. [doi:10.1093/genetics/151.4.1531](https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/151.4.1531). [PMC 1460548](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1460548). [PMID 10101175](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10101175). Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. Kosakovsky Pond, Sergei & Frost, Simon (2005). ["Not So Different After All: A Comparison of Methods for Detecting Amino Acid Sites Under Selection"](https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/22/5/1208/1066893/Not-So-Different-After-All-A-Comparison-of-Methods). *Molecular Biology and Evolution*. **22** (5): 1208–1222. [doi:10.1093/molbev/msi105](https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msi105). [PMID 15703242](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15703242). Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. Hollister, Jesse D. & Gaut, Brandon S. (August 2009). "Epigenetic silencing of transposable elements: A trade-off between reduced transposition and deleterious effects on neighboring gene expression". *Genome Research*. **19** (8): 1419–1428. [doi:10.1101/gr.091678.109](https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.091678.109). [ISSN 1088-9051](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1088-9051). [PMC 2720190](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720190). [PMID 19478138](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19478138)

1. Choi, Jae Young & Lee, Yuh Chwen G. (2020-07-16). "Double-edged sword: The evolutionary consequences of the epigenetic silencing of transposable elements". *PLOS Genetics*. **16** (7). [doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1008872](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008872). [ISSN 1553-7404](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1553-7404). [PMC 7365398](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7365398). [PMID 32673310](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32673310)

1. ["Top 10 Genomics News Stories of 2019"](http://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/lists/top-10-genomics-news-stories-of-2019-328386). *Genomics Research from Technology Networks*. Retrieved 2025-05-27.

1. Huang, Xuehui; Huang, Sanwen; Han, Bin; Li, Jiayang (July 2022). "The integrated genomics of crop domestication and breeding". *Cell*. **185** (15): 2828–2839. [doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.04.036](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.04.036). [ISSN 0092-8674](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0092-8674). [PMID 35643084](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35643084). [S2CID 249103057](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:249103057)

1. Quinton, Amy M. (2023-06-15). ["Study Reveals Potential Breakthrough in Grapevine Disease Resistance"](https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/study-reveals-potential-breakthrough-grapevine-disease-resistance). *UC Davis*. Retrieved 2023-09-17.

1. California, University of & Irvine. ["Study reveals potential breakthrough in grapevine disease resistance"](https://phys.org/news/2023-06-reveals-potential-breakthrough-grapevine-disease.html). *phys.org*. Retrieved 2023-09-17.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Brandon Gaut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Gaut) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Gaut?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.