Understanding the genetics of bird migration is a long-standing goal in evolutionary biology. BlackcapsSylvia atricapilla are ideal for this work as different populations exhibit enormous difference in migratory behaviour and little else. We characterize (i) phenotype, population structure and demographic history the blackcap, and (ii) identify sequence variants and signaling pathways that are...
Bacteriophages infect Gram-negative bacteria by attaching to molecules present on the bacterial outer membrane, often lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Modification of the LPS can lead to phage resistance. LPS modifications also impact antibiotic susceptibility, allowing for phage-antibiotic synergism. The mechanism for these synergistic interactions is unclear. Here, we show that antibiotics affect...
Since Darwin’s time insights from the fields of behavior, ecology and genetics have illuminated the process of speciation. In this talk I will highlight our recent discoveries of evolution in Darwin’s finch populations in the Galápagos archipelago. Field studies of the behavior of individuals and the ecology of populations reveal how the species are reproductively and ecologically isolated....
Marine midges of the genus Clunio inhabit the intertidal zone along rocky coasts around the world. Clunio’s life cycle is adapted to the tides. Adults of Clunio only emerge and reproduce during full moon and new moon, when the spring tides expose most of the intertidal zone. To this end, Clunio evolved endogenous time keeping mechanisms. These include the enigmatic circalunar clock, which...
Cancer is a complex, often tissue-specific disease that can lead to neoplastic outgrowth hallmarked by genetic, epigenetic, and microenvironmental factors. Tissue-disrupting tumors can occur when a population of somatic cells evolves within an organism. Adaptive tumor suppression involves the immune systems which can target pre-cancerous and cancerous cells for destruction. Compared to...
This presentation explores the intricate relationship between selection, chance, and evolutionary history in microbial adaptation to dynamic environments. We implement a multiscale approach to experimental evolution, allowing us to simultaneously observe individual cells and entire populations. This integration of microfluidic technology with traditional batch cultures enables detailed...
Evolutionary analyses have focused on natural selection as the major driver of evolutionary change, with mutations thought to play a relatively small role. Analyses of mutation typically focus on mutation rate, because it constraints the supply of beneficial mutations during adaptation. However, a growing body of work now shows that mutation bias – whereby some types of mutations occur more...
Some plants have developed a clever strategy to cope with the cost of inbreeding. This strategy is realized through a genetically encoded recognition system, allowing the plant to distinguish between its own pollen and that of others. Based on this distinction the plant accepts or rejects the pollen. The complexity of this system, including high dimensionality and inherent randomness, makes...
Alfred Russell Wallace is known for his fundamental contributions to the theory of evolution as we know it. He was an exceptional naturalist who carried out extensive fieldwork in places acknowledged nowadays as biodiversity hotspots, which led him to ask key questions on the geographic distribution of animals. But some of its most influential ideas relate to the function of the wide array of...
