Seminar Details

Darren Bauer, University of New Hampshire
Daphnia: An emerging model system for evolutionary and ecological functional genomics

November 6, 2004
Tufts University, NEMEB 2004

Abstract:
A fundamental goal of biology is to understand the response of individual organisms, communities and ecosystems to environmental change. Modern genomic techniques provide a novel approach to understanding the intricate relationship of an organism and its environment and make it possible to investigate the function, structure and evolution of entire genomes in response to both natural and manmade environmental change. To understand this, a model organism with well-developed genomic and ecological resources is needed; however such a model does not currently exist. Traditional models with established genomic resources, such as C. elegans and Drosophila, while providing seemingly endless information on development, cell biology and genetics, lack significant context outside of the laboratory. The inability to elucidate even basic ecology from traditional models severely limits their potential as models in evolutionary and ecological functional genomics (EFFG). Thus, the development of ecological resources for traditional models would be an imposing and costly venture. The alternative is to develop genomic resources for a non-traditional model organism with established ecological resources. The crustacean Daphnia is such a model and has been identified as a model system that exemplifies the dichotomy between ecologically and genetically tractable models suitable to study the emerging field of EEFG. To this end, the Daphnia Genomics Consortium (DGC) was formed to develop a comprehensive genomic toolbox to establish Daphnia pulex as one of the best genomically characterized organisms whose ecological attributes are well understood.