The evolution of incompatibilities

Research Focuses from the LMU's Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) are initiated by LMU faculty members and have a duration of two years. The overall aim is to promote innovative research by supporting the exploration of new areas of research and the establishment of collaborations with national and international partners. It also encourages discussion of methodological issues that go beyond individual subjects.

Speciation - the process by which new biological species arise - is one of the most important aspects of evolution and one of the central questions of evolutionary theory. During this process, when a species branches into two distinct biological species, reproductive isolation barriers develop between the previously interbreeding populations. The two species can no longer interbreed. Their hybrids are sterile or infertile. Even in his seminal masterpiece "On the Origin of Species", Darwin could not find a satisfactory solution to the obvious paradox of why natural selection tolerates the development of these highly disadvantageous traits.

A new field of biochemistry and cell biology offers hope of solving this puzzle.
Molecules do not just float around, but come together in fascinating ways to form bubbles called condensates, which pop up here and there and fuse together. These condensates allow the cell to maintain some order and organise processes in space and time. However, these molecular structures are probably also responsible for the emergence of incompatibility between species and for the sterility or infertility of hybrids.
The question of whether these molecular mechanisms are responsible for incompatibilities between two species will be investigated by the CAS Research Focus Group.

International guests are invited to participate in these Research Focus groups. Currently, Prof. Nitin Phadnis from the University of Utah (USA) is a Visiting Fellow in this research area. He is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and his research focuses on the genetic and molecular basis of genetic conflict and speciation. In particular, he is interested in understanding the role of genetic conflict involving segregation distorters as a driving force in the evolution of new species.

On the 7th June 2024, Prof. Nitin Phadnis will give a talk about “Genomic Conflicts and the Origins of Species” at the LMU Biozentrum. More information