Heredity Podcast

While there is little doubt that the grey wolf is one of the world's most iconic species, it is equally true that it is one of the world's most reviled. This later sentiment has seen them extirpated from much of their former habitat. However, in a few places, wolves are making a comeback. In this episode, Sarah Hendricks, Dr Rena M. Schweizer and Prof. Robert Wayne discuss their recent research exploring the genetic history of naturally re-established wolf populations in the US states of Oregon and Washington: their discovery that some of these populations represent a genetic mixing of two distinct ecotypes presents challenges for current conservation policy in the country, and raises the question: what wolf belongs where?

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Every winter, geneticists from around the world brave the unpredictable weather to gather for the annual Population Genetics Group Conference. This year, Oxford Brookes University played host to the 52nd such meeting, and with a delegate list of almost 250 researchers, a programme of 106 talks, and around 41 posters, it proved to be a three day celebration of the latest and greatest research in the field of population genetics. In this episode, we hear from the conference organisers, the renowned plenary speakers, and the student prize winners. So settle in and listen to this Heredity Podcast special on PopGroup 52! Link to conference website: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk

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With their delicate, trumpet shaped flowers that open to greet the rising sun, the morning glory has long been a horticultural favourite. Unfortunately, the quick growth and hardy nature of these plants has made them a noxious invasive weed in many parts of the world, with particularly damaging impacts on crop agriculture. Here, Dr Diego Alvarado Serrano, from the University of Michigan, discusses his recently published research on the genetic connectivity of the tall morning glory in the Eastern United States, which he and his collaborators hope will help to curtail the spread of both the plant itself and herbicide resistant genes.

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Southern right whales have had a rough few centuries, being brought to the brink of oblivion more than once by the whaling industry. Before that, climatic shifts likely played havoc with their coastal breeding grounds. What impact did these events have on their population genetics and connectivity? These are the questions being tackled by Dr Emma Carroll and Prof. Oscar Gaggiotti. Join them as they discuss their recent attempt to unravel the demographic history of this enigmatic migratory species. (Dr Carroll is currently in the South Atlantic Ocean collecting more data on southern right whales; why not check out their field blog at whalednalab.auckland.ac.nz)

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What makes a beetle red? Or metallic? Or striped? And why display such a diversity of colour patterns within one species? These are the questions being asked by Lynette Strickland, a PhD candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Pre-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Join us as we discuss her recent research on the genetic and ecological basis of colour polymorphisms in the tortoise beetle, Chelymorpha alternans.

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Europe's 102 million domestic cats were spread across the continent by the Roman Empire. At least, that was the consensus. However, new genetic, archaeological, and archaeozoological evidence suggests that our feline friends were present in Central Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought. How did they get there? And what does this mean for our understanding of cat domestication? Join us as we talk to three of the authors behind this new fascinating research.

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In this episode we explore a hybrid approach for genotyping one of the most variable parts of the vertebrate genome: the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Join Dr Silvia Fuselli (University of Ferrara) and Dr Rodrigo Baptista (University of Georgia) as they explain their work combining the best aspects of both next and third generation sequencing platforms—an approach that is bringing us ever closer to solving the genome puzzle.

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PhD candidate Shannon Kjeldsen, from James Cook University, discusses the ecology, history, population genomics and conservation of an iconic Australian species: the koala! Exciting things are also happening at Heredity Podcast HQ—the way we bring you the latest and greatest genetics research is about to get a whole lot better!

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This episode is a celebration of the Heredity Special Issue: Evolutionary Consequences of Epigenetic Inheritance. Join us as we talk about the motivation behind the Special Issue with Editor Dr Foteini Spagopoulou. Then, PhD student Erin Macartney discusses the role of paternal epigenetic inheritance—a particular focus of the issue—and Dr Yuan-Ye Zhang explains her experiential work on the evolutionary potential of epigenetic variation. Importantly, this episode also celebrates the achievements of ambitious students. Tune in and find out what we mean!

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This episode of the Heredity Podcast is all about applying new genetics methods to understudied organisms! Join us as we explore a novel metric for evolutionary and conservation genetics with salp expert Dr William Goodall-Copestake (British Antarctic Survey). Then stick around to hear Prof. Brad Shafer and Dr Evan McCartney-Melstad (University of California, Los Angeles) discuss their recent application of genomics tools when revisiting the population genetics of a Californian frog.

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