Understanding Reproductive Isolation Based on The Rice Model
Reproductive isolation is both an indicator of speciation and a mechanism for maintaining species identity. In the last twenty years we have been investigating the genetic and molecular controls of hybrid sterility and segregation in intersubspecific crosses using rice as a model, with the goal to the understand the biological basis of reproductive isolation. Based on the progress of molecular characterization of genes controlling hybrid sterility from ours and other related work both in rice and other organisms, we proposed three evolutionary genetic models for understanding the biological process of reproductive isolation: parallel divergence, sequential divergence, and parallel-sequential divergence. I will discuss the significance of such findings and models, and their implications in crop improvement.
Date: 4:00-5:00pm, Dec. 6(Thursday)
Venue: 143, New Biology Building
