Chromosome evolution & speciation in butterflies

KONRAD LOHSE

Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

konrad.lohse@ed.ac.uk

Link to seminar: https://umontpellier-fr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_89ZSMJETT76HKzIw7c3g4w

There is a substantial body of theory showing that chromosome rearrangements can lead both to new species and new sex chromosome systems. However, empirical evidence for a causal link between chromosomal fusions and speciation remains scarce, and the early stages of neo-sex chromosome evolution have only been examined in a handful of species. I will discuss recent population genomic work on two young butterfly systems that has revealed a surprising number of inter-chromosomal rearrangements with far reaching evolutionary consequences: in Brenthis fritillaries, chromosome fusions and fissions have acted as long-term species barriers that may have triggered species divergence. In the Iberian Marbled White, a Z-autosome fusion generated a new sex chromosome system with a surprisingly dynamic evolutionary history.

Watch previous seminars on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrX4IsZ8WIFcDa0ZmC7rcQg