SubjectsSubjects(version: 945)
Course, academic year 2019/2020
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Ecological Developmental Biology and Evolution of Phenotype - MB162P11
Title: Ecological Developmental Biology and Evolution of Phenotype
Czech title: Ekologická vývojová biologie a evoluce fenotypu
Guaranteed by: Department of Ecology (31-162)
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Actual: from 2019
Semester: summer
E-Credits: 3
Examination process: summer s.:
Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
Capacity: unlimited
Min. number of students: unlimited
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English
Note: enabled for web enrollment
Guarantor: prof. Mgr. Lukáš Kratochvíl, Ph.D.
Teacher(s): prof. Mgr. Lukáš Kratochvíl, Ph.D.
Michail Rovatsos, Ph.D.
Annotation -
Last update: RNDr. Veronika Sacherová, Ph.D. (21.12.2017)
The aim of the lecture is to introduce and discuss basic concepts and methodological approaches of ecological developmental biology and genetic and epigenetic processes leading to phenotypic variation within as well as across species and the effect of environment on human and animal health. The lecture requires basic knowledge of evolutionary biology, genetics, physiology and molecular ecology.
Literature -
Last update: RNDr. Veronika Sacherová, Ph.D. (21.12.2017)

West-Eberhart MJ. 2003. Developmental Plasticity. Oxford University Press; New York, Oxford.

Gilbert SF, Epel D. 2008. Ecological Developmental Biology: Integrating Epigenetics, Medicine, and Evolution. Sinauer Associates Inc.: Sunderland, MA.

Gilbert SF, Epel D. 2015. Ecological Developmental Biology: The Environmental Regulation of Development, Health and Evolution. Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, Massachusetts.

Requirements to the exam -
Last update: RNDr. Veronika Sacherová, Ph.D. (29.10.2019)

Oral examination.

Syllabus -
Last update: RNDr. Jana Rubešová, Ph.D. (14.09.2019)

1) Basic concepts of genetic and environmental sources of phenotypic variability

History of the field; proximate and ultimate causation in evolution; terms phenotype, genotype, phenotypic plasticity; historical contingency and convergence in evolution, re-evolution of complex traits.

2) Genetics of phenotypic changes

Basics of quantitative genetics; definitions of heritability; methodological approaches to heritability estimation; methods to find loci controlling a trait expression; candidate genes; QTL; pleiotropy; multiple loci controlling a trait; epistatic interactions; examples of simple genetic changes with large phenotypic effects; phenotypic changes caused by alteration of protein sequence, differences in gene expression; importance of gene copy number variation; co-option.

3) Phenotypic plasticity

Interactions between genotype and environment; norm of reaction; polyphenism; phenotypic flexibility; developmental plasticity; life-cycle staging; canalization; phenotypic accommodation; maternal effect; trade-offs in phenotypic traits; methodological approaches to phenotypic plasticity - transplant and „common garden“ experiments; adaptiveness of phenotypic plasticity; Baldwin effect and genetic assimilation.

4) Proximate mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity

Regulation of alternative phenotypes; direct environmental influence; non-genetic heritability; gene expression; hormones and methods of hormonal manipulations; hormonal activation and organisation; epigenetics (RNA interference, small RNA, DNA modifications); importance of symbionts; role of phenotypic plasticity vs. genetic determination.

5) Evolution of complex phenotypes and the concept of evolutionary constraint

Term „constraint“; developmental constraint and its breakage; adaptation and/versus constraint, correlated trait changes; allometry (ontogenetic, static and evolutionary); phenotypic integration as adaptation vs. evolutionary constraint.

6) Effect of environment on human and animal health

Chemical environment: endocrine disruptors, teratogens; physical environment: temperature, pH, water availability (effect of global climate change), light pollution, electromagnetic pollution; pathogens, symbionts…

7) Mechanisms of sex determination

Mechanisms of sex determination as a special case of genetic/environmental causation; unisexuality; sex changes during ontogeny; genotypic sex determination; environmental sex determination; sex reversal; stability of sex determination; gonad differentiation; origin of sex determining genes; role of sex steroids in sex determination in vertebrates.

8) Proximate mechanisms of sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism as a field integrating many essential aspects of ecological developmental biology; genetics of secondary sexual traits - intersexual genetic correlation; inter- and intralocus sexual conflict and its evolutionary resolution; antagonistic selection; autosomal control; linkage to sex chromosomes; environmental control of sexual dimorphism.

The course is taught with the support of the project reg. number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_015/0002362
 
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