Symbioses becoming permanent:
The origins and evolutionary
trajectories of organelles
This colloquium was held October 15-17, 2014 in Irvine, CA. Organized by W. Ford Doolittle (Dalhousie University), Patrick Keeling (University of British Columbia), and John McCutcheon (University of Montana), the meeting was co-sponsored by Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Overview
This colloquium had a goal of filling the gap between ‘endosymbiont’ and ‘organelle’ by identifying two experimental areas, Genome Evolution, and Integration and Control, where substantial advances have been made in both endosymbiont and organelle systems, but where the full potential of these advances has not been met due to the absence of a comparative framework. The Genome Evolution theme addressed issues of genome reduction and the relationship between genomic architecture and sequence evolution. The Integration and Control theme focused on processes through which two previously independent evolutionary individuals come to work together, such as gene flow, protein trafficking, signaling and transporters.
Agenda
October 15, 2014
Distinctive Voices Public Lecture presented by Michael Gray, CIFAR Advisor, Dalhousie University, Making One from Two (or More): Mergers, Acquisitions, Downsizing and Innovation in Eukaryotic Cell Evolution
October 16, 2014
Introduction and welcome remarks – W. Ford Doolittle & Patrick Keeling
Theme 1: Genomes (evolutionary rates, oddities, and reduction)
Chair: Toby Keirs
John McCutcheon, University of Montana, Endosymbiont genomes: from big to small to big again
John Archibald, Dalhousie University, Nuclear organelles
Andrew Roger, Dalhousie University, Organelle reduction
Siv Andersson, Uppsala University, Alphaproteobacterial genome evolution
David Smith, University of Western Ontario, Roots of genomic architecture variation
Daniel Sloan, Colorado State University, Cytonuclear co-evolution under extreme mitochondrial mutation rates
John Allen, University College London, Why keep genomes?
Theme 2: Integration/Control (trafficking, signaling, transporters)
Chair: Dan Sloan
Patrick Keeling, University of British Columbia, The process of integration
Nancy Moran, University of Texas, Austin, Insect endosymbionts
Geoff McFadden, University of Melbourne, Diversity of protein trafficking
Chris Howe, Cambridge University, Why integrate?
Poster Session
October 17, 2014
Alex C.C. Wilson, University of Miami, Mechanisms of integration with focus on amino acid biosynthesis in the A. pisum/Buchnera holosymbiont
Steve Perlman, University of Victoria, Maternal transmission, sex ratio distortion, and mitochondria
William Martin, Düsseldorf University, Endosymbiont and organelle, what’s the difference?
Moriya Okhuma, Riken University, Metabolic integration across endosymbiotic communities
Debashish Bhattacharya, Rutgers University, Transporters in organellogenesis
Theme 3: Theories and Models
Chair: W. Ford Doolittle
Toby Kiers, University Amsterdam, Bacterial cooperativity
Marc Ereshefsky, University of Calgary, Evolutionary individuality
Peter Godfrey-Smith, City University of New York, Individuality and the egalitarian transitions
Maureen O’Malley, University of Sydney, Philosophical Reflections on Endosymbiosis: Implications for Evolutionary Theory
