Plant & Animal Genomes XVI Conference

January 12-16, 2008
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Sequencing The Genome Of Non-Traditional Model Organisms: Towards Understanding The Role And Mechanism Of Adaptive Evolution

Federica Di Palma , Manfred Grabherr , Evan Mauceli , Mono Pirun , Broad Institute Sequencing Platform , Broad Institute Whole Genome Assembly , Eric S. Lander , Kerstin Lindblad-Toh

  The Broad Institute, Genome Biology Program, Cambridge, MA 02142 USA

The Broad Institute has been given the responsibility to sequence the complete genome of several terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. As genome sequence information in vertebrate species increases, comparative genomics provides us with the power to study the key molecular mechanisms responsible for specific adaptations.
The Caribbean anole lizard, the threespine stickleback, and the African Cichlids represent classic examples of adaptive radiations, and evolutionary divergence due to natural selection. The availability of complete genome sequences as well as the development of genomic tools for these models will allow investigators to study the evolution of several traits (morphological, behavioral) that are important in adaptation and speciation. Published data have shown how the study of naturally occurring phenotypes in populations of the threespine stickleback has begun to unravel the genetic mechanisms underlying adaptive evolutionary change.
A number of vertebrate genes and networks, not previously analyzed in traditional models, is emerging, and providing investigators with clues on how variants of the same genes play a major role in normal developmental processes and human disease.