[Coral-List] ICRS2020 Abstract Submission: The role of non-genetic mechanism in adaptation

[Manuel ARANDA]

Dear fellow coral-listers,



the abstract submission for ICRS2020 in Bremen is now open and I’d like to
take the opportunity to advertise our ICRS session chaired by Misha Matz,
Hollie Putnam and I.



The title of the session is “What role do non-genetic mechanisms play in
adaptation of reef inhabitants to climate change?” and we welcome
submissions on any coral reef organism.



The session will be hosted under theme 10 “Organismal physiology,
adaptation and acclimation”
http://www.icrs2020.de/program/session-program/#c242



The alarming decline of coral reef health worldwide has raised concerns
that the rate of global change might outpace the capacity of reef organisms
to evolve in response to these threats. In addition to genetic adaptation,
which is based on natural selection operating on populations, all organisms
are capable of acclimating to environmental change to some extent using
environment-driven phenotypic modifications, or “plasticity”, happening at
the individual level. These “epigenetic” mechanisms include various
molecular processes such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and
small non-coding RNAs. These mechanisms can dynamically alter gene
expression to better suit different environmental conditions and, at least
in theory, could have lasting effects extending beyond the lifetime of a
single individual and contribute to the population-level adaptive response
in the long term. The study of epigenetic mechanisms as means for reef
organisms to adapt to a changing environment is becoming increasingly
important for our understanding of coral reef resilience in the context of
global climate change. This session will serve as a platform for scientists
working on epigenetics in reef organisms to present and discuss their
findings, and to introduce this emerging field of study to a broader
audience.

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Manuel Aranda Lastra
Associate Professor
Coral Symbiomics Lab
Red Sea Research Center
Building 2, 2216, 4700 KAUST
Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mobile: +966 544700661
https://coralsymbiomics.kaust.edu.sa
 <https://twitter.com/CoralSymBiomiX>

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