News 2018

EvoPAD PhD student Nina Kranke and Postdoc Liliya Doronina from the group of EvoPAD PI Jürgen Schmitz have now published a popular scientific article together about the speciation network in Laurasiatheria - a clade of placental mammals that originated on the northern supercontinent of Laurasia . The clade includes diverse species such as whales, lions, giraffes, bats or horses. Philosopher Nina Kranke and Biologist Lililya Doronina explore the phylogenetic relationships between those modern species and explain challenges and difficulties in doing so. Doronina L & Kranke N (2018) Das Verwandtschaftsnetz von Fledermaus, Pferd, Hund und Kuh. Biologie in unserer Zeit 48: 287-288.

The PhD students of the MGSE and EvoPAD have just released the third issue of The Eyebrow – the student magazine for and by PhD students of the MGSE, EvoPAD and associated labs. The new issue focuses on science in Münster on the occasion of the Münster Evolution Meeting and is again a solid mix of perspectives and backgrounds. One of the highlights is the announcement of the winners of the Eyebrow photo competition with the winning photographs being published in colour. If you like to stay updated on the Eyebrow, you can now follow them also on Twitter or visit the website of the magazine.

From 24 – 27 September 2018, EvoPAD held its second summer school, which focussed on “Evolutionary processes in disease”. The summer school took place at the ABC Bildungs- und Tagungszentrum in Drochtersen-Hüll close to the North Sea. It brought together the EvoPAD PhD students with seven of the EvoPAD PIs in an interactive learning and teaching environment. Dr. Nicole Bender from the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich joined the group as external expert. Together, they explored topics in the field of evolutionary medicine and addressed questions and comments related to research on disease, health, welfare, and quality of life. Besides listening to talks, presenting, and discussing research, the group also enjoyed some leisure time, e.g, during an excursion to the small charming hanseatic town Stade.

Recent studies suggest that many novel genes arise de novo from previously noncoding DNA. The group of EvoPAD PI Prof. Dr. Erich Bornberg-Bauer now investigated mechanisms and dynamics of the de novo emergence of eukaryotic protein-coding genes. They compared a high-coverage mouse transcriptome with four other mammalian transcriptome datasets spanning an evolutionary range of 160 million years ago to assess the conservation and age of novel open reading frames (ORFs). They found that novel ORFs pervasively emerge from noncoding regions but are rapidly lost again, while relatively fewer arise from the divergence of coding sequences but are retained much longer. While most of the emerging transcripts are rapidly lost again, some of them become the starting points of de novo gene emergence. As disorder and other protein properties of young ORFs hardly change with gene age, some transcribed de novo genes can evolve from ‘frozen accidents’ of randomly emerged ORFs that survived initial purging. Link to publication: Schmitz JF, Ullrich KK & Bornberg-Bauer E (2018) Incipient de novo genes can evolve from frozen accidents that escaped rapid transcript turnover. Nature Ecology & Evolution. The press release of the WWU can be found here.

What is science, and what is not science? Are scientific theories true, and if not, why should we adhere to them? EvoPAD PhD students now completed a seminar in which they were informed about central figures, problems, and positions of modern philosophy of science. The 2x2 days programme was taught by Julia F. Göhner from the Center for Philosophy of Science at the WWU and provided a comprehensive overview of the discipline. It encouraged the participants to reflect on their own practice and to challenge traditional notions of what science is and should be. Learn more...

Between 17 June and 15 July 2018, Prof. Dr. Thomas Flatt from the University of Fribourg spent his first visit as EvoPAD Mercator Fellow in Münster. He gave several talks on his research, attended the ongoing EvoPAD events and participated in many stimulating discussions with PhD students and PIs, resulting in various collaborative ideas and plans for future workshops. The EvoPAD members appreciated not only his broad range of expertise in the evolution of life history and aging, but also his open-mindedness and the enthusiasm he brought to every interaction. Prof. Flatt came to a positive conclusion after his visit as well: “My stay in Münster was very productive and successful. I had a great month in Münster and wish to thank everyone I have met.” We also thank Prof. Flatt for his input and look forward to ongoing collaborations and his future visits within the next years.

According to our current state of knowledge, animals are much more similar to humans than we have long thought. Mammals, for example, display grief, trick opponents, feel empathy, learn, and communicate on a high level while their brain and body show similar reactions like in humans. EvoPAD PI Prof. Dr. Norbert Sachser now published a book in which he explains how paradigms have shifted in behavioural biology within the last 30 years and how this has changed our understanding of animals and humans: Norbert Sachser (2018): Der Mensch im Tier. Warum Tiere uns im Denken, Fühlen und Verhalten oft so ähnlich sind (Rowohlt-Verlag; ISBN: 978-3-498-06090-9). There are several interviews with Norbert Sachser on his new book, e.g. on the website of the WWU or as broadcast at the Deutschlandfunk.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Flatt from the University of Fribourg has now been awarded a Mercator Fellowship by the German Research Foundation (DFG) to start an intensive and long-term collaboration with the Research Training Group EvoPAD. Thomas Flatt is a Full Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the Department of Biology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. His research addresses fundamental questions in evolutionary genetics of adaptation, life-history evolution, the evolution and mechanisms of aging and longevity (including the relationship between aging and immunity), and phenotypic plasticity, which meshes extremely well with the core topics addressed by EvoPAD. As Mercator Fellow, Prof. Flatt will be associated with EvoPAD over the long-term including regular stays in Münster. He will be integrated into the EvoPAD projects, contribute to the study programme, and expand on the current range of subjects addressed by the local researchers. His first stay is scheduled for 17 June – 15 July 2018.
The Mercator Fellow Module by the DFG enables intensive and ongoing project-based collaboration between DFG-funded programmes and high-profile scientists from abroad. Mercator Fellows are associated with the projects over the long-term and are at least partially on site at the host institutions. The aim is to bring additional expertise to the projects as well as to increasing their visibility.

Prof. Dr. Erich Bornberg-Bauer has been awarded with a prestigious Program Grant by the International Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Organization. The HFSP’s collaborative Research Grants are given for a broad range of projects under the umbrella theme “Complex mechanisms of living organisms”. The program funds only cutting-edge, risky projects and provides 3 years of support for international teams involving at least two countries. The selection process is highly competitive: Out of 770 proposals from 50 different countries only 31 have been selected after a multi-level selection process. Prof. Bornberg-Bauer is part of a team that will investigate the role of diet in long-lived termite reproductives. Each team member receives on average 110,000 – 125,000 USD per year. It is the third HFSP grant for Prof. Bornberg-Bauer who was selected by the HFSP Organization already in 2006 and 2013. Press release by the WWU

The quality of research is inextricably linked to good scientific practice. The EvoPAD PhD students now successfully completed a training on the basic rules and values of responsible conduct in research in all its stages. They explored differences and grey areas between good scientific practice, questionable research practice and scientific misconduct and learned how misconduct can be recognized and prevented. The workshop was held by Dr. Michael Gommel from the Institut für systemische Medizin- und Organisationsethik. The PhD students concluded after the workshop: “Actually every researcher should have had such a course at one point of his studies.”.

On 21 – 22 March 2018, the 7th Symposium of the Münster Graduate School of Evolution was held at the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster. Around 60 participants attended the two-day event which offered the graduate students the opportunity to present their research in an oral presentation or a poster. Also the EvoPAD PhD students were invited to share their first results, to network with evolutionary biologists in and around Münster, and to gain presenting experience. In addition, EvoPAD organized a plenary session with National Academy of Sciences member Michael Lynch from the Arizona State University, who is famous for his work supporting neutral theories of evolution. The EvoPAD session was completed by talks of EvoPAD PIs Francesco Catania and Erich Bornberg-Bauer. Programme and pictures...

Good news from the DFG: The Grants Committee accepted Prof. Dr. Jürgen Gadau as additional Principal Investigator of EvoPAD. The RTG will be provided with funding for another PhD student including equipment costs. The decision of the Grants Committee is based on very positive peer reviews of the proposal which has been submitted to the DFG in October 2017. Prof. Gadau is appreciated as a leading figure in the field of sociogenomics, with an excellent track record and a high profile research portfolio. The project of Prof. Gadau will try to identify and understand the gene regulatory networks that keep the interaction between nuclear and mitochondrial encoded genes functioning. More specifically, the project will focus on the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) in Nasonia and how its evolution is linked to mitochondrial capacity, metabolic rates, and hybrid incompatibility in this parasitoid wasp genus. The project is supposed to start in April 2018. Together with Prof. Gadau, 13 Principal Investigators are now involved in the doctoral training within EvoPAD.

The MGSE and EvoPAD PhD students proudly present the very first issue of The Eyebrow – a magazine for and by PhD students of the MGSE. “It is a magazine written, edited, formatted, and ultimately yielded by PhD students of the Münster Graduate School of Evolution. We do not aim to inform, yet we will. We aim not to elucidate, but we will. We do, however, aim to entertain, by letting thoughts run freely,” describes Editor-in-Chief April Snøfrid Kleppe the vision of the magazine in the issue’s editorial. The magazine features reportages from different MGSE groups, news of future and passed events, essays as well as cartoons and riddles, providing beautiful distraction for long days in the lab. As associated members of the MGSE, also several EvoPAD PhD students are members of the Editioral Board and contributed significantly to the first issue. The Eyebrow is currently the only student paper at the WWU and is planned to be published quarterly. The fact that the first issue turned out as well as it is shows the potential of the upcoming issues. To convince yourself, you can pick up your copy of The Eyebrow in the MGSE office building in Hüfferstr. 1a. A PDF version of the magazine will be available soon.

Termites evolved eusociality - the reproductive division of labour with overlapping generations and cooperative brood care - independently from and long before social Hymenoptera. A team of researchers led by EvoPAD PI Prof. Dr. Erich Bornberg-Bauer could now show evolutionary signatures of termite eusociality by comparing the genomes and transcriptomes of three termites and the German cockroach against the background of 16 other eusocial and non-eusocial insects. Their result provide further evidence that major changes in gene regulation and the evolution of sophisticated chemical communication are fundamental to the transition to eusociality in insects. Although this parallels molecular mechanisms of eusocial evolution in Hymenoptera, the specific solutions are remarkably different, thus revealing a striking case of convergent evolution. Original Publication: Harrison MC et al. (2018) Hemimetabolous genomes reveal molecular basis of termite eusociality. Nature Ecology and Evolution. 10.1038/s41559-017-0459-1 [doi]. The press release by the WWU can be found here.

EvoPAD Speaker Prof. Dr. Joachim Kurtz and Dr. Jörn Scharsack from the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity contributed to a broadcast on the role of parasites as „global players" in ecosystems on SWR2. The podcast and further information can be found here.