Evolution 2014

I just got back from the Evolution 2014 meetings in Raleigh, North Carolina! It was a blast, full of great conversations and fascinating research. I was especially impressed by talks by Peter Andolfatto, Katie Lotterhos, Mark Rausher, John Weins, Molly Schumer, and Young Wha Lee. I also quite enjoyed the American Society of Naturalists' VP Symposium on Modern Approaches to Local Adaptation, organized by UBC's own Mike Whitlock.

I also talked about my research on the new California sunflower, Helianthus winteri. It was even recorded by a volunteer! The volunteer missed the first few minutes of my talk, so if you decide to watch it, a quick recap of my introduction is below the fold.

(1) During adaptation, genes or gene networks can evolve either via changes in function or via changes in expression (or both). 

(2) Early in adaptation, do we expect any particular gene or gene network to evolve via changes in both gene expression AND gene function? You might think of this as climbing a steep rock face--there's only one way to go, and any tool that gets you closer to the top is useful.

(3) Or do we expect particular genes or gene networks to evolve EITHER in function or in expression? This could be due to constraints of time, the availability of beneficial mutations, physics, epistasis, etc. You might think of this as two roads diverging in a wood--whichever one you take, you are not taking the other (at least over short time scales).

That just about sets up for the start of the video! Enjoy (and apologies for talking so very fast).