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SUMMARY:The Genetic Basis of Clinal Adaptation - Professor Thomas Flatt fr
 om Department of Biology\, University of Fribourg 
DTSTART:20181018T130000Z
DTEND:20181018T140000Z
UID:TALK109222@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Caroline Newnham
DESCRIPTION: One of the central goals of evolutionary genetics is to under
 stand how organisms adapt to environmental heterogeneity. A promising appr
 oach towards this end is to investigate systematic\, gradual phenotypic an
 d genotypic changes along environmental (e.g. climatic) gradients\, so-cal
 led clines\, which are thought to be driven by spatially varying selection
 . \nOver the past 7 years we have been using next-generation sequencing\, 
 population genetics and laboratory assays to identify and characterize can
 didate genes and polymorphisms that might contribute to variation in fitne
 ss-related (life-history) traits among populations of the vinegar fly\, Dr
 osophila melanogaster\, situated along a latitudinal cline spanning the No
 rth American east coast. Our genomic and phenotypic analyses suggest that 
 spatially varying selection is pervasive and acts on numerous loci and pat
 hways\, with many candidates implicated in the physiological regulation of
  life-history\, for example in the insulin / insulin-like growth factor si
 gnaling pathway\, and exhibiting parallel differentiation along the parall
 el cline along the Australian east coast. In my talk\, I will focus on our
  recent work on two clinal polymorphisms\, namely a large chromosomal inve
 rsion polymorphism that harbors an excess of clinal SNPs and a clinally va
 rying allele in the insulin signaling transcription factor foxo. In both c
 ases we have experimental evidence that these polymorphisms make a causati
 ve contribution to the observed phenotypic clines of several fitness compo
 nents.\n
LOCATION:Biffen Lecture Theatre\, Department of Genetics\, Downing Site
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