Thursday Seminar from Tyler Audet

This week we will have a seminar from our own Tyler Audet!

There will be coffee and snacks before the seminar. Please bring your own mug.

Thursday 4:00PM, 1A5 and on zoom (Passcode: cElegans)

Evolutionary causes and consequences of sexual conflict and phenotypic divergence under the constraint of a shared genome

Sexual dimorphism is common in nature. Whether it is sexual size dimorphism, or exaggerated trait dimorphism, males and females often look quite different. This sexual dimorphism is despite the fact that the sexes largely share their genome. To explore the evolution of sexual dimorphism, I have used artificial selection, experimental evolution, RNA-seq, and quantitative genetics. Using artificial selection and evolve and sequence methods, I show that genomic conflict can result in differentially segregating regions of the genome when selection differs between the sexes. Using experimental evolution, I show that current hypotheses for the ecological precursors for sexually dimorphic evolution may be incomplete. I have also explored sex-biased gene expression and genetic covariance matrices in an unusually sexually dimorphic Drosophila species, Drosophila prolongata. I have found that in D. prolongata, there are potential changes in sex-biased gene expression in key developmental genes and transcription factors as well as changes in the magnitude of growth pathway expression leading to exaggerated trait development. I have also found that environmental conditions may alleviate male-female covariation previously hypothesized to restrict sexually dimorphic evolution. Using these diverse methodologies, I expect to be able to add to our understanding of how sexual dimorphism evolves, and how a shared genome contributes to divergent phenotypes within a species.