Michael Lynch, Indiana University

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Event Details
  • Date/Time:
    • Thursday April 14, 2016 - Friday April 15, 2016
      11:00 am - 10:59 am
  • Location: Georgia Tech, EBB 1005
  • Phone: (404) 894-3700
  • URL:
  • Email:
  • Fee(s):
    N/A
  • Extras:
Contact

If you have questions about logistics or would like to set up an appointment with the speaker, please contact the School of Biology's administrative office at bio-admin@biology.gatech.edu.

Summaries

Summary Sentence: Michael Lynch, Indiana University

Full Summary: Abstract

Although natural selection is one of the more powerful forces in the biological world, it is not all powerful. The laws of population genetics, biophysics, and biochemistry ultimately define the paths that are open to evolution in different phylogenetic lineages.  However, a large remaining hole in our understanding of evolutionary mechanisms resides at the cellular level. Three vignettes will illustrate recent progress in this area, and most notably how a great deal of evolution at the cellular level is governed by nonadaptive mechanisms. First, I will consider one of the great mysteries of molecular biology – the evolution of diverse multimeric states of proteins, which is completely disassociated with the level of organismal complexity. Second, I will consider the changes in cellular bioenergetic capacity that exist across the prokaryotic-eukaryotic divide, demonstrating some universal scaling laws, and illustrating the vast differences in species’ ability to incorporate novel DNA and gene-expression patterns. Finally, I will review recent theory and empirical data on mutation rates across the Tree of Life, showing how random genetic drift dictates the level of refinement that can be achieved with this, and indeed any, trait.

Drift, mutation, and the origin of cellular features

Additional Information

In Campus Calendar
Yes
Groups

School of Biological Sciences

Invited Audience
Undergraduate students, Faculty/Staff, Graduate students
Categories
Seminar/Lecture/Colloquium
Keywords
School of Biology Seminar
Status
  • Created By: Jasmine Martin
  • Workflow Status: Published
  • Created On: Feb 5, 2016 - 1:32pm
  • Last Updated: Apr 13, 2017 - 5:16pm