Seminar: Scales of genetic variation in corals from clonal polyps to widespread reefs

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Date/Time:Tuesday, 05 Apr 2022 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm
Location:Virtually
Cost:Free
Contact:Clark Coffman,
Phone:515-294-3911
Channel:Research
Categories:Lectures
Actions:Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder
Join this session of the Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology Promising Scientist Research Series to hear Elora Lopez-Nandam, a Hope for Reefs postdoctoral fellow at California Academy of Sciences, discuss research into how studying somatic mutation rates and within-colony variation has yielded insights into DNA repair mechanisms that coral may employee.

Join this session with this link!

Synopsis: Clonal, colonial corals are animals that live to be hundreds or even thousands of years old, appear to be reproductively viable for their entire adult lives, and may or may not senesce or develop cancers. In addition, they are keystone species that create the structures necessary to support biodiverse coral reef ecosystems. In my talk, I will show how studying somatic mutation rates and within-colony variation yields insights into DNA repair mechanisms that these animals may employ. It has now also yielded a new hypothesis about how their germ, stem cell, and somatic cell lineages develop and mutate across a colony's lifetime. In addition, I will show preliminary results on the genomics of corals bred in captivity for conservation research purposes, and how the lab environment may put selective pressures on baby corals.