Hello!
I am an evolutionary biologist broadly interested in ways of detecting and measuring the diversity of life.
I am currently a research associate at Oregon State University, working closely with the US Forest Service, as a bioinformatics analyst developing ways of detecting environmental DNA in streams. Our methods attempt to observe DNA from organisms (mainly animals) in the water, to gain an understanding of community composition at particular locations.
I earned my doctoral degree in the Botany & Plant Pathology department at OSU, working in the lab of Aaron Liston. As a graduate student I studied botany and plant systematics, specifically working on the genomics and population genetics of milkweeds (Asclepias). You can see some of that progress at the Milkweed Genome Project.
I previously worked as a bioinformatics analyst and e-trainer for the OSU Center for Genome Research & Biocomputing (CRGB). In that position I collaborated the researchers from the OSU community and beyond, assisting with experimental design and analysis of genomic data. As an e-trainer I expanded the training offerings of the CGRB beyond the OSU campus, developing an online course in the R computing language.
Cheers!
June 5, 2021
Publications:
- Weitemier K, BE Penaluna, L Hauck, LJ Longway, T Garcia, R Cronn. 2021. Estimating the genetic diversity of Pacific salmon and trout using multi-gene eDNA metabarcoding. Molecular Ecology. 30:4970-4990. doi:10.1111/mec.15811
- Liston A*, KA Weitemier, L Letelier, J Podani, Y Zong, L Liu, TA Dickinson*. 2021. Phylogeny of Crataegus (Rosaceae) based on 257 nuclear loci and chloroplast genomes: evaluating the impact of hybridization. PeerJ 9:e12418. doi:10.7717/peerj.12418
- Weitemier K, SCK Straub, M Fishbein, CD Bailey, RC Cronn, A Liston. 2019. A draft genome and transcriptome of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) as resources for evolutionary, ecological, and molecular studies in milkweeds and Apocynaceae. PeerJ 7:e7649. doi:10.7717/peerj.7649
- Hauck* LL, KA Weitemier*, BE Penaluna, TS Garcia, R Cronn. 2019. Casting a broader net: Using microfluidic metagenomics to capture aquatic biodiversity data from diverse taxonomic targets. Environmental DNA. 1:251-267. doi:10.1002/edn3.26
- Muñoz-Rodríguez* P, T Carruthers*, JRI Wood, BRM Williams, K Weitemier, B Kronmiller, Z Goodwin, A Sumadijaya, NL Anglin, D Filer, D Harris, MD Rausher, S Kelly, A Liston, RW Scotland. 2019. A taxonomic monograph of Ipomoea integrated across phylogenetic scales. Nature Plants 5:1136-1154. doi:10.1038/s41477-019-0535-4
- Coble AA, CA Flinders, JA Homyack, BE Penaluna, RC Cronn, K Weitemier. 2019. eDNA as a tool for identifying freshwater species in sustainable forestry: A critical review and potential future applications. Science of the Total Environment. 649:1157-1170. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.370
- Muñoz-Rodríguez P, T Carruthers, JRI Wood, BRM Williams, K Weitemier, B Kronmiller, D Ellis, NL Anglin, L Longway, SA Harris, MD Rausher, S Kelly, A Liston, RW Scotland. 2018. Reconciling conflicting phylogenies in the origin of sweet potato and dispersal to Polynesia. Current Biology. 28(8):1246-1256. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.020
- Livshultz T, E Kaltenegger, SCK Straub, K Weitemier, E Hirsch, K Koval, L Mema, A Liston. 2018. Evolution of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis in Apocynaceae: revisiting the defence de-escalation hypothesis. New Phytologist. 218(2):762-773. doi:10.1111/nph.15061
- Schmickl R, A Liston, V Zeisek, K Oberlander, K Weitemier, SCK Straub, RC Cronn, LL Dreyer, J Suda. 2016. Phylogenetic marker development for target enrichment from transcriptome and genome skim data: the pipeline and its application in southern African Oxalis (Oxalidaceae). Molecular Ecology Resources. 16(5):1124-1135. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.12487
- Weitemier K, SCK Straub, M Fishbein, A Liston. 2015. Intragenomic polymorphisms among high-copy loci: A genus-wide study of nuclear ribosomal DNA in Asclepias (Apocynaceae). PeerJ 2:e718. doi:10.7717/peerj.718
- Weitemier* K, SCK Straub*, RC Cronn, M Fishbein, R Schmickl, A McDonnell, A Liston. 2014. Hyb-Seq: Combining target enrichment and genome skimming for plant phylogenomics. Applications in Plant Science 2(9):1400042. doi:10.3732/apps.1400042
- Straub SCK, M Parks, K Weitemier, M Fishbein, RC Cronn, A Liston. 2012. Navigating the tip of the genomic iceberg: Next-generation sequencing for plant systematics. American Journal of Botany 99(2):349-364. doi:10.3732/ajb.1100335
- Straub SCK, M Fishbein, T Livschultz, Z Foster, M Parks, K Weitemier, RC Cronn, A Liston. 2011. Building a model: Developing genomic resources for common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with low coverage genome sequencing. BMC Genomics 12:211. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-12-211
- Kelso S, P Beardsley, K Weitemier. 2009. Phylogeny and biogeography of Primula sect. Parryi (Primulaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 170(1):93-106. doi:10.1086/593041
*Authors contributed equally.
One chapter from my dissertation is currently being prepared for publication. This study uses population genomic techniques to study the jewel milkweed, Asclepias cryptoceras, and its two subspecies spread across the Intermountain West. You can access my dissertation here to read more about it.
Kevin Weitemier, Ph.D. 