2. Behavioral Biology TALKS - Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft

Besides active movement of specimens, gene flow patterns can be affected by
passive drift and transportation e.g. by animal vectors. As a consequence, the
realized connectivity between populations in a landscape is difficult to predict based
on a species? life cycle and the observed mobility only. In this study, we analysed the
genetic connectivity between 26 populations of the hololimnic species Gammarus
fossarum (Crustacea; Amphipoda) in the headwaters of several adjacent catchments
in a German low mountain range (Hochsauerland). Using a 658 bp fragment of the
variable mitochondrial CO1 gene, we tested whether the genetic distance between
the populations is primarily correlated with the stream distance (isolation by stream
distance scenario) or whether Gammarus fossarum is also dispersing by other means
across catchment boundaries. Our results suggest that whereas gene flow is generally
very limited, occasional transport even across catchment boundaries is possible.
8. Evolutionary Biology TALKS
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Invited speaker 1: Chair – Thomas Schmitt A 703 / 12:00
Anna Lindholm (Zürich)
Selfish genes in house mice
Author: Anna Lindholm 1
Affiliation: 1 Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of
Zurich
Mendelian inheritance is the norm - when we reproduce, each of our alleles has a
50% chance to be passed to our offspring. What happens when this is not the case?
The t haplotype provides a fascinating example. The t haplotype is a linked set of
genes in wild house mice that shows drive: more than 50% (usually 90%) of offspring
inherit the t when the sire is a carrier. The underlying mechanism is a poison-antidote
system active in the testes of carrier males, resulting in damage to the developing
wild-type sperm. There is a disadvantage to carriers, as there are fitness costs
associated with the t, reducing the average fitness of +/t individuals compared to +/+.
The t is therefore called a selfish genetic element, since it acts to bias its own
transmission to the next generation, despite costs to the whole organism. Here I
present recent theoretical and empirical research in our lab on the evolution of this
selfish genetic element.
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