Evolution and Genome Structure

Can we predict evolution? This is one of the most fundamental questions in biology today. If we can predict evolution, we can control it. Doing so will change the way we understand biology, the way we use living organisms in biotechnology, the way we treat disease and indeed the way we see ourselves. The Evolution and Genome Structure research group aims to create a predictive framework of evolutionary biology by addressing how variations in genetic background in general, and chromosome structure in particular affect the evolutionary path of populations. We use experimental evolution in microorganisms as a method as it allows the precise control of genetic background and of the relative weights of selection and drift. When combined with whole genome sequencing and high-throughput methods to track populations, this approach is very powerful in describing the evolutionary process. For the moment, we use Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) as a model organism to answer these fundamental questions.