CLOE Christmas Symposium

Talks: 3pm-5pm

Location: Lankester LT, Medawar Building

Speakers

Raquel Nunes Palmeira (Lane group) Title: Modelling the origin of genetic heredity. Abstract: The origin of genetic heredity is arguably the single most puzzling step in the origin of life. That is in part because there is a paradox at the core of the problem: a system as complex as the genetic apparatus must be a result of evolution, but evolution requires a functional heredity system. In this talk I'll review the main models proposed to explain the origin of genetic heredity solve this paradox, as well as their key assumptions, theoretical obstacles, and new observations that might take us a step further in understanding how genetic heredity first arose. 

Ana Serra Silva (Telford group) Title: Is Deuterostomia real? Or are we being hoodwinked by systematic errors? Abstract: Much of our understanding of early animal evolution rests on the existence of two bilaterian clades, Deuterostomia and Protostomia. However, multiple independent phylogenomic datasets have revealed disparate levels of support for these clades. Strong support for protostome monophyly is widespread across phylogenomic datasets, but support for deuterostomes is equivocal and linked to conditions known to lead to systematic errors in tree inference (e.g., model inadequacy, long-branch attraction). We have used a new dataset with broad taxonomic sampling to explore how suspected sources of systematic error influence observed support for Deuterostomia. We found that, when sources of error are mitigated, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between monophyletic Deuterostomia and its paraphyletic alternatives, and that long-branch artefacts have a higher impact on support for monophyletic deuterostomes than model inadequacy. Our results suggest that even if Deuterostomia is monophyletic, many of its purported synapomorphies were probably present in the last common ancestor of Bilateria, which has implications for our understanding of bilaterian relationships and evolution.

Yuttapong Thawornwattana (Yang group). Title: Species complexes and the making of malaria mosquitoes. Abstract: Across the world, malaria mosquitoes have a tendency to consist of groups of cryptic sibling species known as species complexes.  Members of many species complexes are dominant vectors of human malaria, yet we have little understanding of how these species complexes arise and diversify, and why some species became human disease vectors.  Worse still, the nature of species in many species complexes remain poorly understood.  In this talk, I will outline an attempt to better understand the nature of malaria mosquito species in North America.  Population genomic analysis confirms putative species and uncovers several potential new cryptic species.  The finding has implications for vector control and surveillance as well as laying the groundwork for studying the evolution of key traits such as vectorial capacity.

The CLOE Christmas party will be in the Haldane Student Hub from 5pm. All welcome!