Every semester, EES organise a seminar series, which takes place on Mondays at 16:00 at Biozentrum, Lecture Hall B 01.027
Winter Semester 2026/27
Manyuan Long
University of Chicago, USA
The Origin of Genes: Processes and Forces
Abstract:
Functional innovation through the generation of new genes is a general evolutionary process. Exploration of the initial stages of gene evolution and the underlying genetic mechanisms and functional consequences has revealed multiple molecular processes leading to the emergence of new gene structures and important new gene functions that contribute to protein diversity. Genomic surveys and molecular studies across various organisms have revealed that every species contains genes spanning a range of evolutionary ages, from young to old to ancient. Expression patterns and rates of gene origination also exhibit diverse patterns. For instance, gene evolution can involve initial rapid changes in gene structure that are incompatible with the conventional hypothesis of selective relaxation, followed by a transition from early male-biased expression to broader tissue expression, including female expression, as genes age. To test the generality of the conventional idea that adaptive evolution drives functional innovation through new gene evolution, the fitness effects and distribution of hundreds of new genes and dozens of old genes in Drosophila melanogaster were experimentally measured using knockdown and knockout approaches. In contrast to the conventional view, the vast majority of genes, both new and old, showed sexually antagonistic effects, with predominantly male-beneficial and female-detrimental effects. A small proportion of new genes increased fitness concordantly in both males and females, consistent with adaptive evolution of new gene functions. In addition, many genes exhibited contrasting fitness effects between somatic and germline tissues.
Host: John Parsh
Previous and future talks in the EES seminar series