Wissenschaftskolloquium

09.12.
Phylogenomic insights into adaptive radiation
Prof. Dr. Michael Matschiner, Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns

Adaptive radiations are iconic examples of explosive diversification, such as that displayed by Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands or Anolis lizards in the Caribbean. The processes that lead to rapid phenotypic divergence during such radiations have captured evolutionary biologists for many decades. Recently, the generation of large genomic datasets for adaptively radiating groups, coupled with methodological innovations for phylogenetic analyses at unprecedented scales, have allowed novel insights into this fascinating process. Here, I will present the insights gained from phylogenomic analyses for two of the world's most species-rich adaptive radiations – that of cichlid fishes in the East African Lake Tanganyika with around 250 species, and that of notothenioid fishes in Antarctic waters with about 110 species. Our analyses conclusively resolve the relationships among subgroups and reveal a comparable age of both radiations. For Lake Tanganyika cichlids, we further identify pervasive signals of introgression – past genetic exchange between species – indicating that there was and is wide-ranging hybridization among lineages, that may have contributed to the rapid diversification. The radiation of notothenioid fishes is investigated in an ongoing project that aims to sequence the genomes of each notothenioid species. To achieve this goal, museomics methods are required, as several notothenioid species are only known from a few specimens that were collected decades ago. I will present the latest state of this project and give an outlook of the next steps ahead.

As usual, we will also broadcast via zoom for those who can not join in person: https://zoom.us/j/94510498226

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