Research

I am broadly interested in major evolutionary transitions and the evolution of novelty. I apply a gene’s eye view to organismal evolution to better understand how genetic conflicts and their resolution inform development. I have expertise in social amoebae, multicellularity, endosymbiosis, phylostratigraphy, and statistical modelling in R. My research is theoretically grounded in the principles of social evolution and behavioral ecology, with scientific and philosophical implications on germ-soma, complexity and organismality.

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Working Papers/Under Review

1. Jahan, Israt, Scott, Trey J., Strassmann, Joan E., & Queller, David C. (2024) “Testing the coordination hypothesis: incompatibilities in the absence of a single-cell bottleneck in an experimentally evolved social amoeba” bioRxiv. DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.12.593719

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Haiku Summary
Isolated paths, • Mutations weave their stories, • Genotypes collide.

2. Jahan, Israt, Scott, Trey J., Strassmann, Joan E., & Queller, David C. (2024) “Early constraints and progressive divergence in developmental patterning of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum” In Prep for Science Advances.

Genomic secrets, • Phylostratigraphy sings, • A map of ages.

3. Jahan, Israt, Larsen, Tyler J., Strassmann, Joan E., & Queller, David C. (2024) “Symbiont history explains phenotypic trait evolution under relaxed selection in host Dictyostelium discoideum” In Prep for Microbiology Society.

In every spore cast, • In every slug?s gentle crawl, • History breathes deep.

4. Jahan, Israt, Scott, Trey J., Strassmann, Joan E., & Queller, David C. (2025) “Novel kin selected genes have increased pleiotropy in social amoeba” In Prep for Genome Biology and Evolution.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

1. Larsen, Tyler J., Jahan, Israt, Brock, Debra A., Strassmann, Joan E., & Queller, David C. (2023) “Reduced social function in experimentally evolved Dictyostelium discoideum implies selection for social conflict in nature” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1722

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Haiku Summary
Evolved in stillness, • No pressure to deceive here, • Yet traits start to fade.

2. Jahan, Israt, Larsen, Tyler J., Strassmann, Joan E., & Queller, David C. (2022) “Group Maintenance in Aggregative Multicellularity” In The Evolution of Multicellularity. DOI: 10.1201/9780429351907-9

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Though different in form, • Clonal buds and aggregants, • Share a common fate.

Theses

1. Jahan, Israt (2018) “Do membrane proteins travel to the apicoplast in the apicomplexan parasites via the Golgi? - A biological and evolutionary study.” M.Sc. Dissertation. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.

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