A genomics approach to migration in high-flying moths
- Date: Feb 22, 2016
- Time: 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Christopher Jones from Rothamsted Research, UK
- For more information, please see http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/people/jonesc
- Location: MPI Plön
- Room: Lecture hall
- Host: Miriam Liedvogel
AbstractMigration is a fundamental life-history strategy for billions of
insects, including many pest species, yet the genes and biochemical
pathways that drive this phenomenon are poorly understood.
Quantifying the genetic variation in genes associated with migratory
traits will facilitate a greater understanding of long-range
movements in pests at the population level. At Rothamsted Research,
we use a combination of tethered flight and next-generation
sequencing to determine genetic differences associated with flight
propensity in the cotton bollworm moth Helicoverpa armigera
- a high-flying migrant and major agricultural pest. I will present
recent findings from these studies, including both RNA-seq and
whole-genome methylation approaches, and discusses future research
avenues for discovering novel insights into the fundamental
adaptations required for this fascinating phenomenon in insects.