Jennifer James: “Molecular Evolution and Mutation: The Good, the Bad, and the Neutral”
- Date: 27 February 2024, 10:15–12:00
- Type: Seminar
- Lecturer: Jennifer James
- Web page
- Organiser: Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS)
- Contact person: Sandra Rekanovic
Jennifer James (Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study & Uppsala University) will give a seminar on the topic “Molecular Evolution and Mutation: The Good, the Bad, and the Neutral”. The seminar will be followed by a Q&A session. Hybrid event - see the webpage for the Zoom link.
ABSTRACT:
New mutations provide the vital raw input for evolution. But how do mutations affect species? Are they on average, bad, good, or neutral for an individuals’ survival and reproductive success? Or somewhere in between? During this talk I will discuss how our understanding of mutations and how they contribute to genetic variation has developed, and touch on a number of exciting standing questions in the fields of population genetics and molecular evolution. I will also explain some of my own recent findings. These include:
- how the average effects of mutations differ between species.
- how the average effects of mutations differ between populations of a single species.
- how the average effects of mutations differ across the genome within a species, depending on aspects of genome biology.