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SUMMARY:The roles of chromosomal rearrangements and hybridisation in the r
 apid diversification of Ithomiini butterflies - Joana Meier
DTSTART:20250211T130000Z
DTEND:20250211T140000Z
UID:TALK228391@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Henry North
DESCRIPTION:Species richness is very unevenly distributed across the tree 
 of life. While some lineages diversify rapidly into many species given eco
 logical opportunity\, others are much less prone to do so. The factors und
 erlying these differences are poorly understood. Ithomiini butterflies\, a
  tribe of 400 Neotropical butterfly species\, are an ideal study system fo
 r understanding drivers of rapid diversification. Some ithomiine lineages 
 have diversified exceptionally fast\, while others have done so at a much 
 slower pace. By comparing the genetic basis of relevant traits\, rates of 
 hybridisation\, chromosomal rearrangements and other factors\, my group ai
 ms to elucidate the factors underlying this variation in diversification r
 ates. We find important roles of hybridisation contributing beneficial gen
 etic variants and chromosomal rearrangements strengthening reproductive is
 olation. Complex rearrangements involving multiple chromosomes\, often inc
 luding sex chromosomes\, seem to play particularly important roles in spec
 iation. Lastly\, I will present Project Psyche\, a pan-European project to
  generate reference genomes of all 11'000 species of butterflies and moths
  in Europe. This megaproject will allow us to study the generality of our 
 findings on speciation and address a wealth of other questions\, from agri
 cultural pest management to conservation and symbiotic interactions\, to n
 ame a few.
LOCATION:Part II Lecture Theatre\, Department of Zoology
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