Friday, 29 March 2013 at 11:30am
Room 1400 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Bldg.
Refreshments at 11:30
Speaker: Matthew Rockman, Department of Biology and Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, New York University
Title: Genetic Consequences of Mating-system Evolution in C. Elegans
Abstract:
C. elegans, the workhorse model organism for studies of development
and behavior, reproduces primarily by self-fertilization in hermaphrodites.
Its recent ancestors, however, were obligate outcrossers, with separate sexes.
The transition from outcrossing to selfing altered the selective regime in
which these animals live, and it simultaneously transformed the genetic
structure of the species. I'll show how mating-system evolution in C.
elegans has affected the distribution of genetic and phenotypic
variation in this species, focusing on two genetic case studies: early
embryogenesis and mating behavior.