Women in Evolutionary Biology

Session

Short talk

14 May 2024, 12:00

Lecture Hall (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology)

23. A bacterial system to study the microbiota-dependent mechanisms during diet-induced dysbiosis.

Maria Virginia Ramirez Montoya

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract is a complex ecosystem that harbors trillions of microorganisms known as the gut microbiota. As microbes-host interactions are important to maintain host homeostasis, alterations in the microbial composition that lead to functional impairments can have detrimental consequences for the host (dysbiosis). In this context, diet represents one of the main...

15. Beyond the norm: females and not males of two sympatric bird species benefit from multiple mating

Guadalupe Lopez Nava

Exceptions to the rule constitute powerful examples to test commonly accepted ideas.

Within classical Darwinian sex roles, females are choosy, whereas males compete and try to mate with as many females as possible. This translates into higher variation in reproductive success and a stronger correlation between reproductive and mating success (Bateman gradient) in males compared to females...

20. Evolutionary stability of genetic modulators of antibiotic susceptibility to Trimethoprim in Escherichia coli

Manasvi Balachandran

Bacteria possess intrinsic resistance mechanisms to antibiotics and also acquire resistance through mutations. While mutations that confer resistance to antibiotics have been well-characterized, intrinsic resistance remains poorly explored. In this study, we ask whether intrinsic mechanisms of resistance may be viable targets for the design of novel therapeutics. Using trimethoprim, an...

12. Exploring morphological and behavioral signatures in cryptic speciation of grasshoppers

Sarah Gaugel

Speciation encompasses genetic and phenotypic divergence, and the establishment of reproductive isolation, facilitating the coexistence of nascent species. However, some species, termed cryptic species, lack discernible morphological differences but maintain reproductive isolation through behavioral traits. These cryptic species may evade detection by visually oriented scientists, posing...

22. High-throughput microcosm approach reveals bacterioplankton dose-, species-, and form dependence to phytoplankton organic matter

Marjan Ghotbi

The marine microbiome modulates oceanic biogeochemical cycles and is strongly influenced by microbe-to-microbe interactions, including interactions between phytoplankton (the base of the food web) and heterotrophic bacteria. These interactions range along a continuum of positive to negative impacts on the phytoplankton, affecting ecosystem function, and are difficult to discern in the complex...

13. Insights into the mechanisms of sex bias in the hybridogenetic flea beetle, Altica lythri

Kim Rohlfing

Altica lythri is a hybridogenetic beetle with unique reproduction anomalies that provide an ideal model for understanding how genetic conflicts shape the sex, and thus evolution, of species. Ancient interspecific hybridization and Wolbachia bacterial infections in A. lythri resulted in introgression of mitochondrial (mt) DNA (HT1, HT2, HT3). Depending on a female’s mtDNA haplotype and...

21. Interrelation of circalunar, circadian and photoperiodic time keeping in the marine midge Clunio

Jule Neumann

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...

19. Mathematical modelling of effector T cell stimulation, elimination and binding with target cells

Qianci Yang

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...

17. Revisiting the phylogenetic predicament of the genus Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae) using molecular data and tadpole morphology

Umilaela Arifin

The systematics and phylogenetic relationships of Asian ranid frogs of the genus Huia has been unstable for decades and has not been convincingly resolved. Prior to my study, five species (H. cavitympanum, H. masonii, H. sumatrana, Huia modigliani, and H. melasma) were recognized under the genus Huia. However, none of available studies suggested that Huia is a monophyletic group and provided...

14. Snake time machine: investigating constraints on evolution through ancestral protein resurrection

Shabnam Mohammadi

The repeated evolution of resistance to widespread toxins collectively known as cardiotonic steroids represents one of the clearest examples of natural selection. Numerous plants and animals across the globe are chemically defended by these toxins, which target the vital transmembrane protein Na+K+-ATPase (NKA). In response, many herbivores and predators evolved resistance through target-site...

18. Tracing Learning About Five Factors of Evolution Using Learning Analytics

Berrit Katharina Czinczel

The aim of the presented research is to analyse individual learning trajectories on five factors of evolution in order to anticipate potential challenges to learning about evolution early and enable teachers to give more specific feedback in the future. To achieve this, we employ methods of learning analytics, utilizing large datasets from realistic classroom settings to gain deeper insights...

16. Transposable elements as hidden players in fungal evolution

Ursula Oggenfuss

Transposable elements (TEs) play an important role in genome evolution. TEs drive genomic instability, gene expression and gene evolution, frequently leading to phenotypic changes. The impact of novel TE insertions is likely deleterious; thus, ongoing TE activity is limited by purifying selection and diverse defense mechanisms, including the fungal specific repeat-induced point mutations....