Next Evolunch seminar: 22 May 2024 - Philine Feulner

[Evolunch seminar]

Dear Evolunchers,

It is our great pleasure to announce our next Evolunch seminar:

Philine Feulner

Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

A Genomic Perspective on Alpine Whitefish Biodiversity

Wednesday, 22th May, 2024

11:00 CET

 

Mondi 2, Central Building, ISTA

Hybrid Meeting (zoom link here)

 

 

Abstract:

Anthropogenic environmental change is causing the loss of biodiversity at an unprecedented rate. To preserve biodiversity, we need to know what is there and how it is changing, here genomic information can provide important insights. Genomic diversity reflects the adaptive potential of populations and impacts the extinction risk of species. However, empirical data on genomic diversity of populations before environmental perturbations are rare and hence our understanding on the impact of perturbation on diversity is limited. In Lake Constance, a deep-water whitefish species went extinct through speciation reversal during the period of anthropogenic eutrophication mid last century. Using historical and contemporary samples, we sequenced genomes of all species of the Lake Constance whitefish radiation from before and after the eutrophication period. We show that despite the extinction of the deep-water species, fractions of its genome including regions shaped by positive selection and thus potentially adaptive in deep water, persist within surviving species as consequence of introgression. Such introgressed variation from the extinct species might potentially facilitate rapid adaptation to the vacant deep-water niche in one of the surviving species and improve the ecological resilience of ecosystems. Nevertheless, genomic diversity declined during the period of anthropogenic disturbance between 18-30%, depending on the species. Interspecific allele frequency differences at loci located in potentially ecologically relevant genes were homogenized over time. This suggests that during ecological disturbance genome wide genetic variation and also differentiation that evolved in the process of adaptation to alternative ecologies between species declined. These observations demonstrate the sensitivity of biodiversity in evolutionary young adaptive radiations towards environmental disturbance. Given the prevalence of environmental change, studying the genomic consequences and its dynamics under environmental change provides fundamental insights into the evolution of biodiversity and informs biodiversity conservation.

 

Biography

Link to Philine's bio: https://www.eawag.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/tx_userprofiles/upload/feulneph/CV_Feulner_April2024short_01.pdf

If you wish to meet with Philine, please sign-up for meetings here. 

Looking forward to seeing you all there !

The Evolunch Team

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