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SUMMARY:Ecology in Every Cell: what comparative somatic genomics can reve
 al about ageing\, evolution\, and the environment - Alex Cagan\, Universit
 y of Cambridge
DTSTART:20251127T130000Z
DTEND:20251127T140000Z
UID:TALK235525@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:131500
DESCRIPTION:Somatic mutations accumulate throughout life\, shaping ageing\
 , disease risk\, and cellular function. Recent advances in ultra-accurate 
 sequencing now allow us to measure these mutations directly\, offering a n
 ew lens through which to study the evolution of ageing. In this talk\, I w
 ill present our comparative work using laser capture microdissection and N
 anoSeq to quantify somatic and germline mutational processes across a wide
  range of vertebrate species. These data reveal striking links between mut
 ation rates\, cellular maintenance\, and lifespan evolution.\n\nLooking fo
 rward\, I will discuss how these same methods could be repurposed for envi
 ronmental genomics\, enabling detection of harmful environmental exposures
  in wild populations. Being able to measure somatic mutations across speci
 es turns every cell into a potential biomonitor or environmental exposures
 . Such approaches open new possibilities for ecotoxicology\, and understan
 ding how social and environmental stressors influence organismal health th
 rough their effects on genome stability and clonal dynamics within organis
 ms.
LOCATION:Part II Lecture Theatre\, Department of Zoology
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