Registration

Welcome address

- Mónica Bettencourt-Dias

- Sarah Otto

- Antoine Molaro

- Paulo Navarro-Costa

The evolutionary enigma of sex. Sarah Otto (University of British Columbia, Canada)

Selected Talk:

Genomic causes and consequences of asexuality in Schmidtea mediterranea. Jeremias Brand (Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Germany)

Selected talk:

Meiotic sex: the key to genomic integrity in ancestral eukaryotes. Marco Colnaghi (University College London, UK)  

Morning Break

The causes and consequences of haploid gametic selection in 'diploid' organisms. Simone Immler (University of East Anglia, UK)

Selected talk:

On how meiosis can shape sex chromosome evolution. Aurora Ruiz-Herrera (Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Barcelona)

Selected talk:

DNA repair during non-reductional meiosis in the asexual rotifer Adineta vaga. Karine Van Doninck (University of Namur, Belgium) 

Lunch

Flash Presentations

The evolution of germline and somatic X-dosage compensation. James Turner (Francis Crick Institute, UK) 

Selected talk:

Conserved meiotic mechanisms in the cnidarian Clytia hemisphaerica revealed by Spo11 knockout. Jean-René Huynh (Collège de France)

Selected talk:

Polycomb group proteins prevent the assembly of alternative synaptonemal complex structures during meiosis. Rui Martinho (University of Aveiro, Portugal)

Afternoon break

Tales of the Y chromosome: heterochromatin, aging & meiotic conflicts. Doris Bachtrog (University of California Berkley, USA) 

Selected talk:

Battle of the sex chromosomes: competition between X- and Y-chromosome encoded proteins for partner interaction and chromatin occupancy drives multi-copy gene expression in mouse gametes. Julie Cocquet (Institut Cochin, France) 

Selected talk:

Meiotic drive and suppression: de novo protamine copies and hairpin RNAs fuel intragenomic arms races in the male germline. Jeffrey Vedanayagam (Sloan-Kettering Institute, USA)

Wine, Posters & Cheese Session

Open questions in germ line evolution: where do we go from here? Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) 

Selected talk:

Adaptation of Caenorhabditis elegans populations to different reproductive schedules depends on interacting bacteria. Ivo Chelo (University of Lisbon, Portugal)

Selected talk:

Understanding genetic variation in sperm via the sperm proteome. Jayme Cohen (University of East Anglia, UK)

Morning break

The conserved genetic program of male germ cells.  Paulo Navarro-Costa (Lisbon Medical School, Portugal) 

Selected talk:

3D chromatin remodeling modulates evolutionary plasticity in the germ line. Peter Ellis (University of Kent, UK) 

Special guest talk:

Causes and consequences of centromere drive. Harmit Malik (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, USA) 

Lunch 

Centrioles in development and evolution: tiny organelles, multiple and critical functions. Mónica Bettencourt-Dias (Gulbenkian Science Institute, Portugal) 

Selected talk:

Where does DNA damage occur during mouse spermatogenesis? Frances Burden (University of Kent, UK)

Afternoon break

Unusual histones mediate (epi)genetic conflicts during reproduction. Antoine Molaro (Genetic, Reproduction and Development Institute, France) 

Selected talk:

Safeguarding paternal chromosome identity in the fly zygote. Benjamin Loppin (ENS de Lyon, France) 

Selected talk:

Interspecies mouse hybrids as a model to study functional consequences of rapid centromere evolution. Piero Lamelza (University of Pennsylvania, USA)

Round-table discussion 

Dinner reception

Insights on the evolution of gamete interaction from AI-ded structural biology.  Luca Jovine  (Karolinska Institute, Sweden) 

Selected talk:

Biochemical characterization of a protein-protein interaction mediating species-specific fertilization in abalone. Jolie Carlisle (Cornell University, USA)

Selected talk:

Inbreeding avoidance at the gamete level in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Marco Graziano (University of East Anglia, UK)

Morning break

Novel tools for the study of human spermatogenesis, and the potential options for the clinics. Jan-Bernd Stukenborg (Karolinska Institute, Sweden)

Selected talk:

Organoids to model gonadal development in vitro. João Pedro Alves-Lopes (Karolinska Institute, Sweden) 

Lunch

Live long or prosper? Reproduction, lifespan and evolutionary fitness in humans. Virpi Lummaa (University of Turku, Finland)

New perspectives on the fetal-maternal relationship in mammals. Günter Wagner (Yale University, USA)

Selected talk:

Genetic incompatibility of the reproductive partners: an evolutionary perspective on infertility. Jukka Kekalainen (University of Eastern Finland)

Final Remarks