Springer Nature

The annual Population Genetics Group Forum is an important, and much beloved, conference in the fields of genetics and evolution. As registration opens for the 53 meeting of PopGroup (to be held at the University of Leicester, 5th – 8th January 2020), we hear what’s in-store from three of the people organising it: Dr Rob Hammond, Dr Richard Badge and PhD student Max John.

We then delve into the history of this wonderfully unique conference with three of its longest serving delegates: Prof. John Turner, Prof. Laurence Cook and Prof. John Brookfield.

Fish farming, or aquaculture, is an important source of animal protein, particularly in developing nations. Unfortunately, aquaculture is highly susceptible to outbreaks of infections disease. In this episode, Lior David and Roni Tadmor-Levi (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) discuss their work trying to identify the genetic basis of disease survival in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) when challenged with the koi herpes virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 3).

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0224-0

An essential aspect of life is reproduction, and an essential aspect of reproduction is sex… except when it isn’t. While common in invertebrates, asexual reproduction is only seen in around 90 vertebrate species. And in this episode, Dr Susana Freitas (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) explains her work looking at the hybrid origin of parthenogenesis in what may be the best-studied asexual vertebrate—Darevskia lizards.

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0256-5

Species are often thought of as discreet and separate from one another. However, hybrid zones often form between closely related species, providing the opportunity to test many evolutionary hypotheses. In this episode, we talk to Dr Henrique Batalha-Filho (Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil) and Dr Marcos Maldonado-Coelho (Lund University, Sweden) about their work characterising a hybrid zone between two spinetail bird species in the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil... we also hear from the birds themselves.

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0256-5

The Faroe Islands are a North Atlantic archipelago, famed for being a Viking stronghold. However, for the past few centuries the islands have themselves been besieged by one of the world’s greatest invaders: the brown rat. In this episode, Dr Emily Puckett (University of Memphis) and Dr Eyðfinn Magnussen (University of the Faroe Islands) discuss their recent paper looking at the current and historical population genetics of the brown rat. It’s a story that takes us from 18th century shipwrecks right into the modern genomic era.

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0255-6

How do you breed a high-production cow fit for a changing world? It’s rare that we discuss the impact of climate change on cattle agriculture, yet it’s important to consider how rising temperatures will impact this important part of the global food chain. In today’s episode, Prof. Ismo Strandén, Prof. Juha Kantanen and Prof. Michael Bruford discuss a simulation-based approach for identifying optimal breeding strategies. It’s an approach that may help produce a productive yet temperature resilient dairy cow by identifying the best way to mix the desirable genomic traits of both commercial and rare breed stocks.

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0207-1

Collaboration is an essential aspect of modern science, and the authors featured in today’s episode epitomise this relationship. In our most ambitions interview to date, all four first authors of a recent Heredity paper come together to discuss their work looking at range expansions in the blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). Their results provide a cautionary tale for researchers interpreting population genetic data, especially when dealing with potential meta-populations.

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-018-0164-0

Some like it hot. Some like it cold. But whatever an organism’s preference, our changing climate is likely going to force them to adapt to new temperature regimes. This raises a particularly interesting question for those species with complex life-cycles: do different life stages respond to thermal pressures in a similar way? Or do they display distinct evolutionary trends? In this episode we speak to Dr Philip Freda and Zainab Ali about their work looking at stage-specific genotype-by-environment interactions for cold and heat hardiness in Drosophila melanogaster. And beyond the science, Zainab tells us what it feels like to have an undergraduate research experience lead to your first scientific publication.

Associated article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0236-9

Storytelling facilitated both the emergence of the scientific discipline and the evolution of human intelligence. At least, that’s what Prof. Enrico Coen argues. A former President of the genetics society, Prof. Coen, from the John Innes Centre, has two articles in the recent Heredity Special issue commemorating 100 years of The Genetics Society. In the first, he creatively recounts the rise of Homo geneticus, and in the second he delves into the history and importance of human storytelling. Tune in to hear a grand tale of genetics and discover how your research could benefit from a little more storytelling.

Associated articles:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0215-1

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0214-2

We tend to think of science as objective, but as with any human endeavour it is fraught with biases: cognitive, technical, personal and cultural. Interestingly, it turns out that inheritance can also be biased, with the transmission of genes often displaying anything but ‘fair’ segregation. As the Genetics Society celebrates its centenary, join president Prof. Laurence Hurst as he discusses 100 years of bias in genetics and evolution, how he fell in love with the field (despite poor first impressions), his thoughts on science education, and his hopes for a playful future in the study of genetics and evolution.

Associated Article -

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0194-2