Reconstrucció dels genomes ancestrals

Títol: Reconstruction of ancestral genomes reveal genome dynamics in major evolutionary transitions

The history of life on Earth contains major evolutionary transitions, the emergence of new features that dramatically changed the biology of organisms and the planet. Understanding the genomic basis of these events, such as the origin of animals or plants, is one or the major challenges of modern evolutionary biology. Using extensive genome comparisons, we infer the gene complement of the genomes of the ancestors of major groups or organisms. These analyses uncover an unprecedented increase in the extent of genomic novelty during the origin of the Animal Kingdom and land plants, and identify new genes essential to their biology. We also show how gene loss has shaped the genomes of animals after their emergence. Together, these results shed new light on the role that the dymaic nature of genomes played during these transitions..

Ponent: Jordi Paps, de la Universitat de Bristol.
Bio: He is an evolutionary biologist based at the University of Bristol (UK). His research combines molecular phylogenetics and comparative genomics to understand major evolutionary transitions. He obtained his PhD in Genetics (2008, Universitat de Barcelona, Dr Marta Riutort’s lab) working on the molecular phylogeny of the Animal Kingdom. In his first postdoc (2009, Parc Científic de Barcelona; Dr Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo’s team) he worked on the relationships between animals and their close relatives. Later Jordi joined the Department of Zoology (2010, University of Oxford, Prof Peter W.H. Holland’s group), where he performed comparative genomic analyses of all animals to understand their origin, linking the evolution of genomes and morphology. Then he joined the University of Essex as lecturer (2015), and later he moved to the University of Bristol (2019). Now he is expanding those analyses to other major transitions, like the origin of plants, animal parasites, or the evolution of animals with bilateral symmetry.

Idioma vehicular: anglès.

Lloc: sala d’actes del Castell dels Tres Dragons (Laboratori de Natura, pg. Picasso, s/n)

Imatge de LaCasadeGoethe.

Dins el programa de Seminaris de Biodiversitat, SEMBIO. Debat i intercanvi d’experiències essencialment sobre sistemàtica, zoologia, evolució animal i filogènia molecular. Aquestes xerrades estan organitzades pel Grup de Recerca Consolidat ZooSysEvo format per científics de la Facultat de Biologia (UB) i del Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. L’objectiu és difondre els continguts de la recerca d’investigadors del grup o d’algun investigador convidat.