Syllabus
1) Basic concepts of genetic and environmental sources of phenotypic variability History of the field; proximate and ultimate causation in evolution; terms phenotype, genotype, phenotypic plasticity; historical contingency and convergence in evolution, re-evolution of complex traits.
2) Genetics of phenotypic changes Basics of quantitative genetics; definitions of heritability; methodological approaches to heritability estimation; methods to find loci controlling a trait expression; candidate genes; QTL; pleiotropy; multiple loci controlling a trait; epistatic interactions; examples of simple genetic changes with large phenotypic effects; phenotypic changes caused by alteration of protein sequence, differences in gene expression; importance of gene copy number variation; co-option.
3) Phenotypic plasticity Interactions between genotype and environment; norm of reaction; polyphenism; phenotypic flexibility; developmental plasticity; life-cycle staging; canalization; phenotypic accommodation; maternal effect; trade-offs in phenotypic traits; methodological approaches to phenotypic plasticity - transplant and „common garden“ experiments; adaptiveness of phenotypic plasticity; Baldwin effect and genetic assimilation.
4) Proximate mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity Regulation of alternative phenotypes; direct environmental influence; non-genetic heritability; gene expression; hormones and methods of hormonal manipulations; hormonal activation and organisation; epigenetics (RNA interference, small RNA, DNA modifications); importance of symbionts; role of phenotypic plasticity vs. genetic determination.
5) Evolution of complex phenotypes and the concept of evolutionary constraint Term „constraint“; developmental constraint and its breakage; adaptation and/versus constraint, correlated trait changes; allometry (ontogenetic, static and evolutionary); phenotypic integration as adaptation vs. evolutionary constraint.
6) Effect of environment on human and animal health Chemical environment: endocrine disruptors, teratogens; physical environment: temperature, pH, water availability (effect of global climate change), light pollution, electromagnetic pollution; pathogens, symbionts…
7) Mechanisms of sex determination Mechanisms of sex determination as a special case of genetic/environmental causation; unisexuality; sex changes during ontogeny; genotypic sex determination; environmental sex determination; sex reversal; stability of sex determination; gonad differentiation; origin of sex determining genes; role of sex steroids in sex determination in vertebrates.
8) Proximate mechanisms of sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism as a field integrating many essential aspects of ecological developmental biology; genetics of secondary sexual traits - intersexual genetic correlation; inter- and intralocus sexual conflict and its evolutionary resolution; antagonistic selection; autosomal control; linkage to sex chromosomes; environmental control of sexual dimorphism. The course is taught with the support of the project reg. number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_015/0002362
Annotation
The aim of the lecture is to introduce and discuss basic concepts and methodological approaches of ecological developmental biology and genetic and epigenetic processes leading to phenotypic variation within as well as across species and the effect of environment on human and animal health. The lecture requires basic knowledge of evolutionary biology, genetics, physiology and molecular ecology.