Is Genome evolution accelerated during speciation?
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Biological Sciences
Abstract
There are consistent differences between the estimated dates of divergence of evolutionary lineages when those estimates are based on the fossil record compared with estimates based on DNA sequence divergence (the molecular clock). One of the reasons this might be is that the evolutionary rate is faster during speciation. Over the course of this project, I will be modelling evolutionary changes to form hypotheses that would explain the inaccuracies of the molecular clock. I will then gather genome/transcriptome data for species who have been recently speciating, such as island reptiles, and testing our hypotheses against them. How the observed evolution in these groups relates to the simulated evolution will inform us about the sources of inaccuracy of the molecular clock, and will potentially help us design a more accurate one.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Davide Pisani (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Alan Beavan (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M009122/1 | 30/09/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
| 1934385 | Studentship | BB/M009122/1 | 30/09/2017 | 29/09/2021 | Alan Beavan |
| Description | We showed that for some scenarios during evolution, evidence from DNA is not sufficient to estimate the time that has passed since species diveged. We also show that Bayesian methods are able to calibrate evolutionary histories effectively to estimate divergence times using evidence from both DNA and the fossil record. We illustrated the pattern of genome duplication in vertebrates, copmparing competing hypotheses. We show that one duplication occured in the ancestral vertebrate, then further duplications in gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates), lampreys, and teleost fish. |
| Exploitation Route | Others will be made aware of the shortcomings of some methods, and will think again about using them. Knowing the duplication history of vertebrates will allow evolutionary biologists to understand how gene families have evolved and make inferences about how this links to the success of the group. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |