SYMPOSIUM DESCRIPTION: Genomics of Adaptation [S16] Model organisms for life-history research are mainly studied in the lab where functional genetics is assessable. In general, however, knowledge about their eco-evolutionary dynamics, such as biotic interactions, is rare. By contrast, in organisms for which the ecology and adaptation strategies in the field are well known, we typically lack the appropriate genetic tools to investigate functionality. Advances in genomics and statistics as well as investments in evolutionary model organisms are now providing access to putatively adaptive genome-wide variation within species from across the tree of life. In this symposium, we focus on integrating life-history biology, genetics and evolutionary ecology in the genomics era.

We wish to (1) highlight the role of genetic architecture of complex traits, such as adaptations to biotic interactions or life-history traits; (2) contrast this to morphological traits which are generally thought to have a less complex genetic architecture; and (3) discuss the opportunities and drawbacks of specific model systems.

INVITED SPEAKERS: Josephine Pemberton, University of Cambridge (http://bit.ly/2hJWytJ ) Peter Tiffin, University of Minnesota (http://bit.ly/2hK7HuS )

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION The deadline for abstract submission is January 10, 2017. For more information and to submit abstracts online, please visit: http://bit.ly/2fBXlvN We look forward to an exciting symposium and seeing you all in Groningen! Sincerely, Ben Blackman, UC Berkeley Maaike de Jong, University of Bristol Bart Pannebakker, Wageningen University Noah Whiteman, UC Berkeley Jelle Zandveld, Wageningen University

More at https://evoldir.net/brian/evoldir/PostDocs//UniFreiburg_Germany.EvolutionaryTheory

A new study in Science offers a different and surprisingly sweet perspective. Researchers Jennie Brand-Miller, Karen Hardy, David Raubenheimer, and Les Copeland suggest that sugars from fruits and honey, and later starch from cooked plants, may have been key in helping the human brain evolve.

The brain’s carbohydrate problem

The human brain uses a lot of energy. Even though it is only about 2% of an adult’s body weight, it takes up a large share of the body’s resting energy, mainly using glucose as fuel. Over millions of years, as our ancestors’ brains grew from about 300 grams in Australopithecus afarensis to around 1,500 grams in modern humans, the need for easy-to-access glucose would have gone up a lot.

The researchers, therefore, asked a simple question: where did all that glucose come from?

Their analysis suggests that early hominins may have gotten much of their glucose from naturally sweet foods. Fruit and honey could give them easy access to sugars before they learned to digest cooked starch well. The study’s models show that sugars may have made up a big part of their diet.

From fruit and honey to cooked starch

The story did not end with fruit.

The researchers suggest that humans shifted from eating sweet foods to eating cooked starchy foods. Once people learned to control fire and process food, cooking made starchy plants much easier to digest and turned them into a key source of glucose.

From this perspective, new ways of preparing food, like pounding, processing, and cooking, were not just about making meals softer or tastier. These changes may have given our ancestors access to much more carbohydrate energy.

This gives us a more detailed view of how the human diet evolved. Animal foods were clearly important, but carbohydrates may have been just as important for meeting the high energy needs of a growing brain.

A different way to think about the human diet

The study does not claim that our ancestors ate sugar the way we do today. There is a big difference between eating whole fruits or natural honey and eating the highly processed, refined sugars common now.

Instead, the research points to something bigger. Human evolution may have depended on our ability to find, process, and get energy from many different foods.

Seasonal fruit, honey, underground plant foods, and later cooked starches could have been important sources of glucose. The researchers think that changes in how available these foods were may have shaped how our ancestors searched for food and even affected human evolution.

What does this mean today?

The findings should not be interpreted as a license to eat more refined sugar. Instead, they challenge the simple idea that carbohydrates were less important than meat in human evolution. Our ancestors survived and evolved by exploiting different nutritional opportunities—and by developing technologies that made previously difficult foods more useful.

So perhaps the history of the human brain was not written by meat alone. ISo maybe the story of the human brain is not just about meat. It could also be about fruit, honey, roots, grains, and our unique ability to turn plants into energy. sweeter than we once imagined.

Read more about it at https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.aed8437

To attempt to answer these questions about the basics of how evolution works, we use a combination of computational biology, analytical theory, comparative genomics.

More at https://yeamanlab.weebly.com

Applications are invited for the position of Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology (Bioinformatics).

We are seeking a person with a relevant doctorate, and demonstrated potential to develop as an outstanding researcher and teacher in evolutionary bioinformatics in the Department of Zoology. The position affords an exciting opportunity for an emerging scholar to research and teach in a vibrant and diverse Department. The successful candidate will develop a transformative and collaborative research program, supporting the university's commitment to excellence in research.

Your skills and experience

A PhD with a background in analysis of high-throughput sequencing data and evolutionary biology.
Knowledge of and familiarity with a range of bioinformatics skills, concepts, and practices as they relate to the biology of animals, including genomic, transcriptomic and metabarcoding data analyses.
A strong interest, and experience, in research and teaching of bioinformatics and evolutionary genomics.
An ability to contribute to teaching and learning environments that support engagement of students and staff with bioinformatics and genomics.
Be committed to and or have established connections or track record of working with national and local bioinformaticians.
Be committed to being a productive collaborator with a track record of working collegially.
Further details

This is a confirmation-path (tenure track) position at the level of Lecturer. The successful candidate is expected to take up duties by 1 July 2021.

To see a full job description and to apply online go to: https://otago.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=2100342

Awards of $5 million to four grantees have been made in fiscal year 2013 under the Genomic Sequencing and Newborn Screening Disorders research program. The program will be funded at $25 million over five years, as funds are made available.

"Hundreds of US babies will be pioneers in genomic medicine through a US$25-million programme to sequence their genomes soon after they are born."

Source:

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2013/09/scientists-to-sequence-hundreds-of-newborns-genomes.html

http://www.genome.gov/27554919

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequence_assembly 

https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-016-0951-y

Address of the bookmark: https://sourceforge.net/projects/operasf/

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/reubwn/hgt

To cite Mugsy, use:

Angiuoli SV and Salzberg SL. Mugsy: Fast multiple alignment of closely related whole genomes.Bioinformatics 2011 27(3):334-4

Address of the bookmark: http://mugsy.sourceforge.net/