Contribution of mitonuclear genomes to evolutionary processes

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Flo Camus, UCL
• Tuesday 10 June 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology.

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

Mitochondria play a fundamental role in biology as energy-producing organelles with their own DNA (mtDNA), which must closely interact and coevolve with the nuclear genome. This talk explores how these mitonuclear interactions drive evolutionary processes, influencing organismal fitness, adaptation, and survival. Focusing on evidence from Drosophila, we reveal how mtDNA accumulates mutations beneficial to females but detrimental to males, demonstrating critical evolutionary trade-offs and sex-specific selective pressures. Additionally, we examine how mitonuclear genetic interactions shape nutritional preferences and metabolic adaptations, influencing key life-history traits. These insights extend to understanding organismal responses to environmental challenges, such as dietary shifts and temperature fluctuations, highlighting how mitonuclear compatibility can buffer or exacerbate physiological stress. Ultimately, exploring these complex genetic interactions sheds light on broader evolutionary patterns, ecological resilience, and the dynamic interplay between organisms and their changing environments.

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

This talk is included in these lists:

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

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.