Evolutionary biology 2009: phylogenetics, speciation, co-evolution,
development, genomes, life histories, plasticity… What is new?
June 8 -12, 2009, University of Rennes-1, Rennes, Brittany
Scientific and organizing committee :
Prof Jacques van Alphen- Marie Curie Chair, UMR ECOBIO, University of Rennes 1 and University of
Leiden (Pays-Bas)
Dr Joan van Baaren- University of Rennes 1
Dr Malika Ainouche- University of Rennes 1
Dr Jean-Christophe Simon, INRA UMR BIO3P, Rennes
Dr. Manuel Plantegenest, Agrocampus Ouest, UMR BIO3P
Dr. Yannick Outreman, Agrocampus Ouest, UMR BIO3P
Dr. Marie-Agnès Coutellec, INRA Rennes, UMR ESE
Dr. Christine Paillard, UMR CNRS 6539, Institut Européen de la Mer, Plouzané
Dr Frédéric Jean, MC, UMR CNRS 6539, Institut Européen de la Mer, Plouzané
Prof Yves-Marie Paulet, UMR CNRS 6539, Institut Européen de la Mer, Plouzané
Prof Jean Laroche, UMR CNRS 6539, Institut Européen de la Mer, Plouzané
Dr Valérie Stiger, LEBHAM, Institut Européen de la Mer, Plouzané
Evolutionary biology 2009: phylogenetics, speciation, co-evolution,
development, genomes, life histories, plasticity… What is new?
June 8 -12, 2009, University of Rennes-1, Rennes, Brittany
The 200th birthday of Charles Darwin on 12 February 2009 and the 150th anniversary of the publication of
“ The origin of species “ are the reasons why 2009 will see many celebrations.
In this context we propose to organize an advanced course in Evolutionary Biology, including 4 days of
conferences, open to PhDs and researchers, followed by one practical day in phylogenetics analysis,
open to PhDs only for French and other European PhD students in Evolutionary Biology. The course will
give an overview of the research methods in evolutionary biology and will provide state of the art reviews
on timely questions in evolutionary biology, by internationally leading scientists in the field. Posters could
be proposed by the participants, to be discussed with the invited speakers in evening sessions. A price
of the best poster will be organized.
It provides an excellent opportunity for doctoral students and young researchers to interact with
internationally recognized evolutionary biologists. In addition, it will provide them to the occasion to
interact with the active community of evolutionary biologists at University of Rennes1.
We will address all major questions in evolutionary biology: How to reconstruct phylogenetic trees and
how to study the evolutionary past? How do new species come into existence? What is the role of sexual
selection in evolution? How do life-history characters and behavior evolve? How do genomes evolve?
What is the role of phenotypic plasticity in evolution? What is the role of epigenetics? What are the
constraints in the evolution of developmental plans? What is the role of antagonistic and mutualistic coevolution?
The manifestation will have the following format:
Part 1. What are the most important questions in Evolutionary Research.
a) What is the evolutionary history of a clade? This question is addressed by reconstructing
the phylogeny of the clade preferentially making use of molecular data, or a combination of
morphological characters and molecular data.
b) How do new species come into existence? There are different modes of speciation (e.g.
allopatric, parapatric or sympatric) and a variety of mechanisms resulting in reproductive
isolation. Speciation can be studied by making use of virtually all methods in evolutionary
biology.
c) How has sexual reproduction evolved and how is it maintained? This is the study of the
paradox of the twofold cost of sex.
d) What are the constraints in the evolutions of developmental plans? We will address
questions like Why do we have five fingers? Why do almost all mammals have 7 cervical
vertebrae, even when they have a long neck like a Giraffe, and why does the number of
cervical vertebrae in birds vary
e) How do genomes evolve? The evolution of genomic conflicts, horizontal transmission of
genes, cytoplasmic genes versus nuclear genes etc.
f) When do organisms co-evolve? Co-evolution and evolutionary arms races, evolutionary
hot-spots and cold-spots
g) How do life history characters and behaviour evolve? This is the field of evolutionary
ecology and behavioural ecology.
h) What is the role of sexual selection in evolution? Another question addressed in
behavioural and evolutionary ecology
i) How does development constrain evolution? The field of “evo-devo”
Part 2: What are the methods to study Evolutionary Biology?
a) Reconstruction of phylogenies
b) The comparative method with corrections for phylogeny. E.g. phylogenetic contrasts
c) The phenotypic approach: Deductive modelling and empirical tests of the predictions of
those models.
a. Optimization models
b. Evolutionary Game theory
c. Adaptive dynamics
d) The genetic approach: Population genetic models
e) When to use phenotypic models and when to use genetic models? Why?
Evolutionary biology 2009: phylogenetics, speciation, co-evolution,
development, genomes, life histories, plasticity… What is new?
June 8 -12, 2009, University of Rennes-1, Rennes, Brittany
Program
Monday, June 8 (Diapason)
10.00h - 11.45h
Registration
11.45h - 13.15h Lunch
Afternoon Session: Origin and history of life
13.15h – 13.30h
Welcome & Introduction
13.30h - 14.15h
Brice Felden, University of Rennes 1
Ribonucleic acids (RNAs) and their contributions in the current theories of the origin
of life on Earth
14.15h - 15.00h
Céline Brochier, Université de Provence Aix-Marseille
LUCA and the universal tree of life
15.00h - 15.30h
Tea Break
15.30h - 16.15h
Richard Cloutier, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Canada et Géosciences, Université de
Rennes 1
Climbing the tree of Evo-Devo
16.15h - 18h
Discussion. Poster Session
Tuesday, June 9 (Diapason)
Morning session: Speciation
9.00h - 9.45h
9.45h - 10.30h
10.30h - 11.00h
11.00h - 11.45h
11.45h - 12.30h
12.30h – 14.00h
Heinz Müller-Schärer, University of Fribourg, Suisse
Adaptive evolutionery change in an invasive plant: tracking its evidence
Salvatore Cozzolino, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Pollination specificity, reproductive isolation and speciation in Mediterranean
orchids
Coffee Break
Malika Ainouche, University of Rennes 1
Impact of hybridisation on plant speciation
Jacques van Alphen, University of Leiden, The Netherlands
Speciation in Lake Victoria haplochromine cichlids
Lunch
Afternoon Session: Co-evolution
14.00h - 14.45h
Dieter Ebert, Universität Basel, Switzerland
Antagonistic coevolution
14.45h - 15.30h
Abdelaziz Heddi, INRA-INSA Villeurbanne, France
Host-symbiont coevolution in insect intracellular symbiosis
15.30h - 16.00h
Tea Break
Sexual selection
16.00h - 16.45h
16.45h - 17.30h
17.00h – 19.00h
Jean-Christophe Simon (INRA Rennes)
Evolution of Sexual Reproduction (psr, wolbachia,meiotic drive)
Ken Kraaijeveld, IBL, University of Leiden, Netherlands
Sperm competition, sexual conflict and speciation
Discussion- Poster session
Wednesday, June 10 (Diapason)
Morning session: speciation (following)
9.00h - 9.45h
Richard Bateman, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK
Saltation and gradualism are essential and complementary components of any
credible macroevolutionary paradigm
Evolution, Development and phenotypic plasticity
9.45h - 10.30h
Frietson Galis, University of Leiden
Evolutionary novelties: the making and breaking of pleiotropic constraints
10.30h - 11.00h
Coffee Break
11.00h - 11.45h
Carl Schlichting (University of Connecticut)
Advances in Plasticity & Phenotypic Evolution
11.45h - 12.30h
Paula Rudall, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK
Defining the limits of flowers
12.30h – 14.00h
Lunch
Afternoon session: Genome Evolution
14.00h – 14h45
Scott Jackson, Purdue University, Indiana, USA
Genome dynamics and comparative approaches to understanding genome
evolution
14h45 - 15h30
Pierre Capy, CNRS Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
Evolution and impact of transposable elements
15h30 - 16h15
Vincent Colot. Unité de recherche en génomique végétale, Evry, France.
Assessing the impact of transgenerational epigenetic variation on complex traits
16.00h - 16.45h
Tea Break
Afternoon session: Co-evolution
16.45h - 17h30
17h30 - 18.15h
18h15 - 19.00h
Michele K. Nishiguchi, New Mexico State University
Deciphering mechanisms in mutualistic associations with beneficial microbes.
Allen Herre (Smithsonian Tropical Institute, Panama)
Interactions and Co-evolution in three tropical mutualisms
Poster session
Thursday, June 11 (Diapason)
Morning Session: Evolution of Life History Characters and Behaviour
9h- 9.45h
John Mc Namara, University of Bristol, UK
State dependent stochastic dynamic models in the study of life history and behavior
9.45h -10.30h
Carlos Bernstein, University of Lyon, France
State dependent foraging decisions: the whys and the hows of parasitoids
10.30h – 11.00h
Coffee Break
11h – 11.45h
Kate Lessells, NIOO, Heteren, NL
Maternal effects: when everyone agrees or the subject of intra-familial conflict?
11.45h – 12.30h
Alex Kacelnik
Optimality and Rationality
12h30-14h00 Lunch
Afternoon Session: Genome Evolution
14.00h - 14.45h
Olivier Panaud, University of Perpignan, France
Evolution of complex genomes: the dynamics of Transposable Elements and their
impact on the structure and the evolution of rice genome.
14.45h - 15.30h
Mike Purugganan, New York University USA
The nature of selection in plant domestication: Phenotypes and genomes
15.30h - 16. 00h
Tea Break
16.00h - 16.45h
16.45h - 17.30h
17.30h – 19.00h
Pierre Pontarotti, University of Marseille, France
Evolutionary Systems Biology
Anne Atlan, University of Rennes1
Genetic conflicts
Discussion- Poster session
Friday, June 12 (amphi D, Bâtiment 12, IFSIC)
Morning session: Methods in the study of evolution
9.00h - 9.45h
Olof Leimar, University of Stockholm
Deductive modeling optimization and evolutionary game theory
9.45h - 10.30h
Tom van Dooren, University of Leiden, the Netherlands
Race against the machine: comparing alternative responses to disruptive selection
10.30h - 11.00h
Coffee Break
11.00h - 11.45h
Bénédicte Wirth, University of Marseille, France
The comparative method with correction for phylogeny
12.40h - 14h
Afternoon Session:
14h - 18h
Lunch
Pierre Pontarotti and Bénédicte Wirth, University of Marseille, France
Practical exercises on methods