BMC Seminar - Evolution of cellular and developmental regulatory networks

BMC Seminar Thursday 16th of January in Askja, room N-132 at 12:30 to 13:10

Speaker: Dr. Arnar Pálsson, Professor in Bioinformatics, Faculty of Life- and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland

Title: Evolution of cellular and developmental regulatory networks

Abstract: Developmental systems produce stereotypical outcomes in the face of genetic and environmental variation. These systems have evolved via natural selection that builds adaptations, but also via developmental system drift. During evolution these systems are tuned and rewired, for instance with transcriptional co-option and decay. This paper explores evolution of these networks with focus on the role of cryptic genetic variation, stabilizing and compensatory selection, developmental specificity of mutations and transcriptional responses to decanalization. The patterns and principles of regulatory and developmental evolution influence both organismal phenotypes, their responses to environmental factors and the origins of many diseases.