The Institute Colloquium: Constrained freedom: The evolution and development of pheno
Date:
Monday, March 11, 2013 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker:
Enrico Coen (John Innes Centre)
Location:
Raiffeisen Lecture Hall, Central Building
Series:
Institute colloquium
Contact:
Trappl Marie
Life exhibits a remarkable diversity of patterns, yet the evolutionary processes underlying this phenotypic diversity operate under major constraints. These include the constraints of development which define a restricted space of readily generated forms and patterns. There are also genetic constraints that restrict the extent to which genotypes may diverge within and among populations. In addition there are selective constraints that influence variation according to fitness. A major challenge is to understand how these various constraints interact to define observed phenotypic patterns. I will describe a range of experimental and computational approaches to this problem using Antirrhinum (Snapdragon) as a model system. This system has the advantage of being amenable to both developmental and population genetic analysis. The work involves collaboration with population geneticist Nick Barton (Vienna) and computational scientist Andrew Bangam (Norwich).