Ecology in Every Cell: what comparative somatic genomics can reveal about ageing, evolution, and the environment

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• Alex Cagan, University of Cambridge
• Thursday 27 November 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact jwm57.

Somatic mutations accumulate throughout life, shaping ageing, disease risk, and cellular function. Recent advances in ultra-accurate sequencing now allow us to measure these mutations directly, offering a new lens through which to study the evolution of ageing. In this talk, I will present our comparative work using laser capture microdissection and NanoSeq to quantify somatic and germline mutational processes across a wide range of vertebrate species. These data reveal striking links between mutation rates, cellular maintenance, and lifespan evolution.

Looking forward, I will discuss how these same methods could be repurposed for environmental genomics, enabling detection of harmful environmental exposures in wild populations. Being able to measure somatic mutations across species turns every cell into a potential biomonitor or environmental exposures. Such approaches open new possibilities for ecotoxicology, and understanding how social and environmental stressors influence organismal health through their effects on genome stability and clonal dynamics within organisms.

This talk is part of the Zoology Departmental Seminar Series series.

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• Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology
• Zoology Departmental Seminar Series

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