This session will discuss some currently topical aspects of evolutionary biology -- in other words, things your course organiser finds fun. We will look at two, related topics.
Gene duplications pose all sorts of problems for inferring phylogeny. We will investigate these in the context of vertebrate phylogeny. But more than being a hassle for tree builders, the relationship between gene duplication and the evolution of complexity is currently very topical. In particular, it has been suggested that a major contributor to the evolution of large, complex creatures such as vertebrates has been repeated episodes of gene duplication. Might genome duplications be involved in major events such as the Cambrian radiation?
Slowinksi, J. and R. D. M. Page (1999). "How should species phylogenies be inferred from sequence data?" Systematic Biology 48: 814-825. doi:10.1080/106351599260030
Meyer, A. and M. Schartl (1999). “Gene and genome duplications in vertebrates: the one-to-four (-to-eight in fish) rule and the evolution of novel gene functions.” Current Opinion in Cell Biology 11: 699-704. [PDF]
Martin, A. P. (1999). “Increasing genomic complexity by gene duplication and the origin of vertebrates.” American Naturalist 154: 111-128. [PDF]
To what extent does the phylogeny of a parasite mirror that of its host? This question motivates the field of host-parasite cospeciation. Host-parasite assemblages are also increasingly being used to calibrate molecular clocks in disparate lineages, such as bacteria and insects.
Moran, N. A., C. D. van Dohlen, et al. (1995). “Faster evolutionary rates in endosymbiotic bacteria than in cospeciating insect hosts.” Journal of Molecular Evolution 41: 727-31.
Page, R. D. M. and Charleston, M. A. (1998). Trees within trees: Phylogeny and historical associations. Trends in Ecolology and Evolution, 13:356-359. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(98)01438-4
Page, R.D.M., & Hafner, M.S. 1996. Molecular phylogenies and host-parasite cospeciation.: gophers and lice as a model system. Pages 255-270 in New uses for new phylogenies (Harvey, P.H., Leigh Brown, A.J., Maynard Smith, J., & Nee, S., eds.). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
If you are especially keen, have a look at the draft of a forthcoming book on cospeciation.