Department of Biology Ribble Endowment Seminar

"Genetic and Genomic Mechanisms Underlying the Convergent Evolution of Pollination Syndromes in the Neotropical Radiation of Costus L. (Costaceae)"

Specht

Dr. Chelsea Specht | Specht Lab

Bio:
Dr. Chelsea Specht is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Biology and Associate Director for Faculty Development, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Integrative Plant Science and serves as the elected Associate Dean of Faculty for Cornell University.   She is a faculty member in the graduate fields of Plant Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a faculty fellow of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.  She is also a member of the L.H. Bailey Hortorium and affiliated with the Cornell University Herbarium. 

In the Specht Lab we work together to investigate the evolution and diversification of Plant Form and Function. We use traditional morphological and developmental techniques combined with molecular genetics, comparative genomics and evolutionary biology to study the natural diversity of plants and to help better understand the forces creating and sustaining this diversity.  Our research incorporates elements of systematics, developmental genetics and molecular evolution to study the patterns and processes associated with plant speciation and diversification.  We take advantage of living and preserved collections to advance our research in plant systematics, biogeography, and developmental evolution. 

Abstract:
Fifty years since Dr. Paul J.M. Maas published his first monograph of the New World Costoideae, we continue to struggle with species boundaries and evolutionary relationships within this charasmatic lineage of tropical monocotyledonous plants.  In fact, the more we explore and discover the more questions emerge about the dynamics, patterns, and processes leading to speciation and diversification across the Neotropical Costaceae.  In this seminar, I will discuss the recent monographic revision and its critical role in establishing a framework for evolutionary and ecological studies of the Neotropical Costus lineage within a phylogenetic context.  The tempo and mode of speciation events are correlated with morphological changes that influence organismal interactions, including pollination and herbivory.  Ecologic, morphologic, and biogeographic conditions that appear to promote hybridization and result in the potential for hybrid speciation are discussed across the genus, and implications for developing a stable taxonomy – and whether or not that is even possible or desirable – will be discussed.

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"Genetic and Genomic Mechanisms Underlying the Convergent Evolution of Pollination Syndromes in the Neotropical Radiation of Costus L. (Costaceae)"

Specht

Dr. Chelsea Specht | Specht Lab

Bio:
Dr. Chelsea Specht is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Biology and Associate Director for Faculty Development, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Integrative Plant Science and serves as the elected Associate Dean of Faculty for Cornell University.   She is a faculty member in the graduate fields of Plant Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a faculty fellow of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.  She is also a member of the L.H. Bailey Hortorium and affiliated with the Cornell University Herbarium. 

In the Specht Lab we work together to investigate the evolution and diversification of Plant Form and Function. We use traditional morphological and developmental techniques combined with molecular genetics, comparative genomics and evolutionary biology to study the natural diversity of plants and to help better understand the forces creating and sustaining this diversity.  Our research incorporates elements of systematics, developmental genetics and molecular evolution to study the patterns and processes associated with plant speciation and diversification.  We take advantage of living and preserved collections to advance our research in plant systematics, biogeography, and developmental evolution. 

Abstract:
Fifty years since Dr. Paul J.M. Maas published his first monograph of the New World Costoideae, we continue to struggle with species boundaries and evolutionary relationships within this charasmatic lineage of tropical monocotyledonous plants.  In fact, the more we explore and discover the more questions emerge about the dynamics, patterns, and processes leading to speciation and diversification across the Neotropical Costaceae.  In this seminar, I will discuss the recent monographic revision and its critical role in establishing a framework for evolutionary and ecological studies of the Neotropical Costus lineage within a phylogenetic context.  The tempo and mode of speciation events are correlated with morphological changes that influence organismal interactions, including pollination and herbivory.  Ecologic, morphologic, and biogeographic conditions that appear to promote hybridization and result in the potential for hybrid speciation are discussed across the genus, and implications for developing a stable taxonomy – and whether or not that is even possible or desirable – will be discussed.

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"Genetic and Genomic Mechanisms Underlying the Convergent Evolution of Pollination Syndromes in the Neotropical Radiation of Costus L. (Costaceae)"

Specht

Dr. Chelsea Specht | Specht Lab

Bio:
Dr. Chelsea Specht is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Biology and Associate Director for Faculty Development, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Integrative Plant Science and serves as the elected Associate Dean of Faculty for Cornell University.   She is a faculty member in the graduate fields of Plant Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a faculty fellow of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.  She is also a member of the L.H. Bailey Hortorium and affiliated with the Cornell University Herbarium. 

In the Specht Lab we work together to investigate the evolution and diversification of Plant Form and Function. We use traditional morphological and developmental techniques combined with molecular genetics, comparative genomics and evolutionary biology to study the natural diversity of plants and to help better understand the forces creating and sustaining this diversity.  Our research incorporates elements of systematics, developmental genetics and molecular evolution to study the patterns and processes associated with plant speciation and diversification.  We take advantage of living and preserved collections to advance our research in plant systematics, biogeography, and developmental evolution. 

Abstract:
Fifty years since Dr. Paul J.M. Maas published his first monograph of the New World Costoideae, we continue to struggle with species boundaries and evolutionary relationships within this charasmatic lineage of tropical monocotyledonous plants.  In fact, the more we explore and discover the more questions emerge about the dynamics, patterns, and processes leading to speciation and diversification across the Neotropical Costaceae.  In this seminar, I will discuss the recent monographic revision and its critical role in establishing a framework for evolutionary and ecological studies of the Neotropical Costus lineage within a phylogenetic context.  The tempo and mode of speciation events are correlated with morphological changes that influence organismal interactions, including pollination and herbivory.  Ecologic, morphologic, and biogeographic conditions that appear to promote hybridization and result in the potential for hybrid speciation are discussed across the genus, and implications for developing a stable taxonomy – and whether or not that is even possible or desirable – will be discussed.

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"Genetic and Genomic Mechanisms Underlying the Convergent Evolution of Pollination Syndromes in the Neotropical Radiation of Costus L. (Costaceae)"

Specht

Dr. Chelsea Specht | Specht Lab

Bio:
Dr. Chelsea Specht is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Biology and Associate Director for Faculty Development, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Integrative Plant Science and serves as the elected Associate Dean of Faculty for Cornell University.   She is a faculty member in the graduate fields of Plant Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a faculty fellow of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.  She is also a member of the L.H. Bailey Hortorium and affiliated with the Cornell University Herbarium. 

In the Specht Lab we work together to investigate the evolution and diversification of Plant Form and Function. We use traditional morphological and developmental techniques combined with molecular genetics, comparative genomics and evolutionary biology to study the natural diversity of plants and to help better understand the forces creating and sustaining this diversity.  Our research incorporates elements of systematics, developmental genetics and molecular evolution to study the patterns and processes associated with plant speciation and diversification.  We take advantage of living and preserved collections to advance our research in plant systematics, biogeography, and developmental evolution. 

Abstract:
Fifty years since Dr. Paul J.M. Maas published his first monograph of the New World Costoideae, we continue to struggle with species boundaries and evolutionary relationships within this charasmatic lineage of tropical monocotyledonous plants.  In fact, the more we explore and discover the more questions emerge about the dynamics, patterns, and processes leading to speciation and diversification across the Neotropical Costaceae.  In this seminar, I will discuss the recent monographic revision and its critical role in establishing a framework for evolutionary and ecological studies of the Neotropical Costus lineage within a phylogenetic context.  The tempo and mode of speciation events are correlated with morphological changes that influence organismal interactions, including pollination and herbivory.  Ecologic, morphologic, and biogeographic conditions that appear to promote hybridization and result in the potential for hybrid speciation are discussed across the genus, and implications for developing a stable taxonomy – and whether or not that is even possible or desirable – will be discussed.

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"Genetic and Genomic Mechanisms Underlying the Convergent Evolution of Pollination Syndromes in the Neotropical Radiation of Costus L. (Costaceae)"

Specht

Dr. Chelsea Specht | Specht Lab

Bio:
Dr. Chelsea Specht is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Biology and Associate Director for Faculty Development, Equity, and Inclusion in the School of Integrative Plant Science and serves as the elected Associate Dean of Faculty for Cornell University.   She is a faculty member in the graduate fields of Plant Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a faculty fellow of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.  She is also a member of the L.H. Bailey Hortorium and affiliated with the Cornell University Herbarium. 

In the Specht Lab we work together to investigate the evolution and diversification of Plant Form and Function. We use traditional morphological and developmental techniques combined with molecular genetics, comparative genomics and evolutionary biology to study the natural diversity of plants and to help better understand the forces creating and sustaining this diversity.  Our research incorporates elements of systematics, developmental genetics and molecular evolution to study the patterns and processes associated with plant speciation and diversification.  We take advantage of living and preserved collections to advance our research in plant systematics, biogeography, and developmental evolution. 

Abstract:
Fifty years since Dr. Paul J.M. Maas published his first monograph of the New World Costoideae, we continue to struggle with species boundaries and evolutionary relationships within this charasmatic lineage of tropical monocotyledonous plants.  In fact, the more we explore and discover the more questions emerge about the dynamics, patterns, and processes leading to speciation and diversification across the Neotropical Costaceae.  In this seminar, I will discuss the recent monographic revision and its critical role in establishing a framework for evolutionary and ecological studies of the Neotropical Costus lineage within a phylogenetic context.  The tempo and mode of speciation events are correlated with morphological changes that influence organismal interactions, including pollination and herbivory.  Ecologic, morphologic, and biogeographic conditions that appear to promote hybridization and result in the potential for hybrid speciation are discussed across the genus, and implications for developing a stable taxonomy – and whether or not that is even possible or desirable – will be discussed.

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"The Dual Role of Parental Conflict in Speciation: Lessons from Mimulus""

Coughlan_Selfie

Dr. Jennifer Coughlan | Coughlan Lab

Bio:
See attached CV here.

Abstract:
Determining what factors generate biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Despite its long history of study, we are only beginning to understand the evolutionary drivers of reproductive barriers between species, including reproductive barriers that manifest as sterile or dead hybrids. An intriguing hypothesis is that intragenomic conflicts- or selfish evolution- can drive the evolution of alleles that cause hybrid sterility/inviability. One such source of conflict is conflict between parents over resource allocation to offspring. Under parental conflict, multiple paternity drives the evolution of paternally derived, resource-acquiring alleles, and maternally derived alleles that distribute resources equally among offspring. In hybrids, mismatches between these parent-of-origin effect alleles can cause inappropriate development of placenta or endosperm, and subsequently embryo death. Here, I test the role of parental conflict in generating one of the most common intrinsic barriers in seed angiosperms- hybrid seed inviability-using members of the evolutionary and ecological model system; the Mimulus guttatus species complex. I show that hybrid seed inviability has evolved rapidly and repeatedly in this group, and patterns of HSI conform to the predictions of parental conflict. Additionally, genetic mapping suggests that hybrid seed inviability is conferred by nuclear, parent-of-origin effect loci (i.e. loci that affect the probability of death only if maternally or paternally derived). Lastly, using a series of natural surveys and mixed pollination crosses, I find that species with different histories of parental conflict frequently co-occur and hybridize, and hybridization between species with differing histories of parental conflict can indirectly influence growth in intraspecific seeds. Overall, this work highlights a dual role of parental conflict in the speciation process; both in the origin of reproductive isolation, but also in the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization in nature.

Watch the seminar here!
 

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"The Dual Role of Parental Conflict in Speciation: Lessons from Mimulus""

Coughlan_Selfie

Dr. Jennifer Coughlan | Coughlan Lab

Bio:
See attached CV here.

Abstract:
Determining what factors generate biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Despite its long history of study, we are only beginning to understand the evolutionary drivers of reproductive barriers between species, including reproductive barriers that manifest as sterile or dead hybrids. An intriguing hypothesis is that intragenomic conflicts- or selfish evolution- can drive the evolution of alleles that cause hybrid sterility/inviability. One such source of conflict is conflict between parents over resource allocation to offspring. Under parental conflict, multiple paternity drives the evolution of paternally derived, resource-acquiring alleles, and maternally derived alleles that distribute resources equally among offspring. In hybrids, mismatches between these parent-of-origin effect alleles can cause inappropriate development of placenta or endosperm, and subsequently embryo death. Here, I test the role of parental conflict in generating one of the most common intrinsic barriers in seed angiosperms- hybrid seed inviability-using members of the evolutionary and ecological model system; the Mimulus guttatus species complex. I show that hybrid seed inviability has evolved rapidly and repeatedly in this group, and patterns of HSI conform to the predictions of parental conflict. Additionally, genetic mapping suggests that hybrid seed inviability is conferred by nuclear, parent-of-origin effect loci (i.e. loci that affect the probability of death only if maternally or paternally derived). Lastly, using a series of natural surveys and mixed pollination crosses, I find that species with different histories of parental conflict frequently co-occur and hybridize, and hybridization between species with differing histories of parental conflict can indirectly influence growth in intraspecific seeds. Overall, this work highlights a dual role of parental conflict in the speciation process; both in the origin of reproductive isolation, but also in the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization in nature.

Watch the seminar here!
 

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"The Dual Role of Parental Conflict in Speciation: Lessons from Mimulus""

Coughlan_Selfie

Dr. Jennifer Coughlan | Coughlan Lab

Bio:
See attached CV here.

Abstract:
Determining what factors generate biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Despite its long history of study, we are only beginning to understand the evolutionary drivers of reproductive barriers between species, including reproductive barriers that manifest as sterile or dead hybrids. An intriguing hypothesis is that intragenomic conflicts- or selfish evolution- can drive the evolution of alleles that cause hybrid sterility/inviability. One such source of conflict is conflict between parents over resource allocation to offspring. Under parental conflict, multiple paternity drives the evolution of paternally derived, resource-acquiring alleles, and maternally derived alleles that distribute resources equally among offspring. In hybrids, mismatches between these parent-of-origin effect alleles can cause inappropriate development of placenta or endosperm, and subsequently embryo death. Here, I test the role of parental conflict in generating one of the most common intrinsic barriers in seed angiosperms- hybrid seed inviability-using members of the evolutionary and ecological model system; the Mimulus guttatus species complex. I show that hybrid seed inviability has evolved rapidly and repeatedly in this group, and patterns of HSI conform to the predictions of parental conflict. Additionally, genetic mapping suggests that hybrid seed inviability is conferred by nuclear, parent-of-origin effect loci (i.e. loci that affect the probability of death only if maternally or paternally derived). Lastly, using a series of natural surveys and mixed pollination crosses, I find that species with different histories of parental conflict frequently co-occur and hybridize, and hybridization between species with differing histories of parental conflict can indirectly influence growth in intraspecific seeds. Overall, this work highlights a dual role of parental conflict in the speciation process; both in the origin of reproductive isolation, but also in the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization in nature.

Watch the seminar here!
 

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"The Dual Role of Parental Conflict in Speciation: Lessons from Mimulus""

Coughlan_Selfie

Dr. Jennifer Coughlan | Coughlan Lab

Bio:
See attached CV here.

Abstract:
Determining what factors generate biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Despite its long history of study, we are only beginning to understand the evolutionary drivers of reproductive barriers between species, including reproductive barriers that manifest as sterile or dead hybrids. An intriguing hypothesis is that intragenomic conflicts- or selfish evolution- can drive the evolution of alleles that cause hybrid sterility/inviability. One such source of conflict is conflict between parents over resource allocation to offspring. Under parental conflict, multiple paternity drives the evolution of paternally derived, resource-acquiring alleles, and maternally derived alleles that distribute resources equally among offspring. In hybrids, mismatches between these parent-of-origin effect alleles can cause inappropriate development of placenta or endosperm, and subsequently embryo death. Here, I test the role of parental conflict in generating one of the most common intrinsic barriers in seed angiosperms- hybrid seed inviability-using members of the evolutionary and ecological model system; the Mimulus guttatus species complex. I show that hybrid seed inviability has evolved rapidly and repeatedly in this group, and patterns of HSI conform to the predictions of parental conflict. Additionally, genetic mapping suggests that hybrid seed inviability is conferred by nuclear, parent-of-origin effect loci (i.e. loci that affect the probability of death only if maternally or paternally derived). Lastly, using a series of natural surveys and mixed pollination crosses, I find that species with different histories of parental conflict frequently co-occur and hybridize, and hybridization between species with differing histories of parental conflict can indirectly influence growth in intraspecific seeds. Overall, this work highlights a dual role of parental conflict in the speciation process; both in the origin of reproductive isolation, but also in the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization in nature.

Watch the seminar here!
 

Date:
Location:
THM 116

"The Dual Role of Parental Conflict in Speciation: Lessons from Mimulus""

Coughlan_Selfie

Dr. Jennifer Coughlan | Coughlan Lab

Bio:
See attached CV here.

Abstract:
Determining what factors generate biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Despite its long history of study, we are only beginning to understand the evolutionary drivers of reproductive barriers between species, including reproductive barriers that manifest as sterile or dead hybrids. An intriguing hypothesis is that intragenomic conflicts- or selfish evolution- can drive the evolution of alleles that cause hybrid sterility/inviability. One such source of conflict is conflict between parents over resource allocation to offspring. Under parental conflict, multiple paternity drives the evolution of paternally derived, resource-acquiring alleles, and maternally derived alleles that distribute resources equally among offspring. In hybrids, mismatches between these parent-of-origin effect alleles can cause inappropriate development of placenta or endosperm, and subsequently embryo death. Here, I test the role of parental conflict in generating one of the most common intrinsic barriers in seed angiosperms- hybrid seed inviability-using members of the evolutionary and ecological model system; the Mimulus guttatus species complex. I show that hybrid seed inviability has evolved rapidly and repeatedly in this group, and patterns of HSI conform to the predictions of parental conflict. Additionally, genetic mapping suggests that hybrid seed inviability is conferred by nuclear, parent-of-origin effect loci (i.e. loci that affect the probability of death only if maternally or paternally derived). Lastly, using a series of natural surveys and mixed pollination crosses, I find that species with different histories of parental conflict frequently co-occur and hybridize, and hybridization between species with differing histories of parental conflict can indirectly influence growth in intraspecific seeds. Overall, this work highlights a dual role of parental conflict in the speciation process; both in the origin of reproductive isolation, but also in the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization in nature.

Watch the seminar here!
 

Date:
Location:
THM 116