March 11, 2020

12:00 The Hershey Hall Grand Salon, Room 158, Hershey Hall

CANCELLED-Michael Nachman

" The Genomic Basis of Environmental Adaptation in House Mice "

A major goal in biology is to understand the genetic details of how organisms adapt to novel environments.  We have a good understanding of the genetic basis of many simple traits, such as coat color in mice, but much of evolution involves polygenic traits, and the genetic details underlying complex traits are far less understood.  I will discuss recent studies on the genetic basis of environmental adaptation in mice which have recently colonized North and South America from Europe.  Through a combination of field and laboratory studies, we have begun to identify genes that underlie complex traits, including those that are adaptive in different environments.  I will also discuss the role of phenotypic plasticity in facilitating the colonization of new environments.

Host: Bob Wayne