Abstracts from invited speakers

Hidden layers of genetic diversity in marine fishes from the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean ecosystems

Pierre-Alexandre Gagnaire, ISEM – University of Montpellier, France

Exploring the interrelationships connecting genetic, species and ecosystem diversity is fundamental to understanding the multiple organizational scales at which biodiversity occurs. Evolutionary genomics contributes to this objective by studying how genetic diversity, the raw material of evolutionary change, is partitioned among individuals, populations and species. The high resolution offered by genome sequencing technologies is now revealing intermediate layers of genetic diversity in diverse marine species. These genetic subdivisions lie in between the classically recognized population and species levels and therefore provide a window into the interplay between evolutionary and ecological processes that shape biodiversity.

We investigated these hidden layers of genetic diversity in marine fishes from the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean ecosystems. By generating whole-genome sequence data, we documented several cases of cryptic divergence between evolutionary lineages or ecotypes of the same species. Boundaries between cryptic evolutionary lineages generally showed overlap within the Atlantic-Mediterranean suture zone, while ecotype pairs were found to segregate along coastal/marine ecological gradients. We evaluated the influence of species and ecosystem traits on diversification, and found that species’ life-histories, reproductive strategies and ecosystem characteristics shape the extent of genetic diversity at multiple levels within and between lineages and ecotypes.

Lessons from yeast: synergistic effects of damage accumulation, nutrient signaling and metabolism in the context of cellular rejuvenation and health span

Marija Cvijovic, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

One of the main challenges in ageing research is to understand how the events that constitute hallmarks of cellular ageing are regulated and interconnected. However, our ability to fully understand the complexity of the networks and their branches involved in the ageing process by experimental methods is limited.

Here I will present our recent efforts in building methods and models of different scales:  Boolean model of the signaling network, an enzyme-constraint flux balance model of the central carbon metabolism and a dynamic model of growth and protein damage accumulation with discrete cell divisions. This approach allows us to simultaneously disentangle cause and consequence and unravel their synergistic role in understanding yeast aging holistically.

By examining the relationship between proteostasis, signaling and metabolism may provide direct clues to underlying mechanisms involved in ageing. We hope that these results will contribute to our understanding of the importance of nutrient availability and metabolism in regulating lifespan, as the modulation of metabolism through nutrient uptake may provide novel avenues for increasing healthspan.

Biodiversity Genomics initiatives: Global, European, Swedish

Olga Vinnere Pettersson, Uppsala University, Sweden

 Large-scale environmental change is leading to mass biodiversity loss, with extinction rates at 10-100 fold above baseline and an estimated 25% of species threatened with extinction worldwide, eroding the provision of ecosystem goods and services that human society depends upon (IPBES 2019). Addressing the global biodiversity crisis requires understanding of the diversity of life on Earth, how that diversity functions and interacts, and how biodiversity responds to different environmental pressures. Reference genome sequencing is invaluable tool to study these questions, however, it is not available for the absolute majority of species.

The global Earth Biogenome Project (EBP) aims to create genomic references all eukaryotic life during the next decade. European countries put together an EU-branch of the EBP - European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA). Together with BISCAN, the European branch of the International Barcode of Life (iBOL), ERGA has applied for HE-funding for establishing a European hub for biodiversity genomics research.

In Sweden, a national EBP initiative is being creative. SciLifeLab Genomics has become a member of both EBP and ERGA and working hard on establishing user-friendly reference genome sequencing and analysis pipelines available to both national academia and public stakeholders.

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