Today's Messages

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “Sex and symbionts: Evolutionary genomics of terrestrial isopods,” presented by Dr. Christopher Chandler on Monday, November 3, at 3:00 p.m. in SAMC 151. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:50 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies leading up to the seminar.

Research Seminar Abstract: Sexual reproduction is widespread among multicellular organisms, yet key questions about its evolution remain. For instance, why are the genetic mechanisms that determine the sex of a developing organism so diverse? And why do so many organisms reproduce sexually in the first place, when organisms that reproduce asexually should theoretically reproduce twice as quickly as sexual ones? Terrestrial isopod crustaceans are an excellent model system for addressing these types of questions because of the unique interactions they have with the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia. Because female isopods carrying Wolbachia transmit this endosymbiont to their offspring via eggs, but males do not, Wolbachia has evolved the ability to alter its hosts’ reproduction in surprising ways. In this talk, I will share findings from two projects looking at the evolution of sex and sex chromosomes in terrestrial isopods. First, I will show evidence of an evolutionary transition to a novel sex chromosome system in one species, consistent with the hypothesis that Wolbachia drives sex chromosome turnover in isopods. I will also present genome-wide sequence data from a parthenogenic isopod population, shedding light on the evolutionary trade-offs between sexual and asexual reproduction. Finally, I will mention future research directions highlighting the potential of isopods as a useful group for broadening our understanding of how and why sexual reproduction evolves.