Speaker

Leonie Moyle (Dept of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington USA)

Abstract

Natural color diversity is a powerful lens through which to examine multiscale biological processes—from individual mutations that alter the generation of pigments through to macro-ecological and -evolutionary processes that shape the frequency and distribution of color traits. Focusing on the megadiverse Nightshades (Solanaceae), I’ll talk about how we're using comparative and population genomics, along with fieldwork, ecological, and historical data, to examine the eco-evolutionary processes shaping one highly variable and ecologically important trait—fruit color. With analyses that range from the global distribution and diversification of fruit color variation, to microevolutionary invasion and trait convergence on the Galapagos Islands, we aim to understand why fruit colors are so diverse and how they evolve among species. By combining genomic, organismal, and evolutionary approaches, our goal is also answer fundamental questions about the repeatability of adaptive evolution, including how often convergent evolution is driven by common ecological conditions and underpinned by shared molecular mechanisms.