Molecular archives: Earth history and adaptations
Living organisms as a data source for the exploration of the earth history
Whilst commonly used methods in geosciences require the availability of artefacts originating from the period of time they make assumptions about, modern molecular phylogeny and population genetic methods use the genome of organisms alive today to infer processes that date back hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.
The combination of several methods, each with their own uncertainties, but independent of one another and affected by the same events in Earth history, allow synergies and more meaningful modelling results.
In the molecular phylogenetic tree of serolid isopods major events in the earth history such as the Gondwana breakup as well as the replacement of the original fauna by more specialised, cold-apated species can be demonstrated and dated (Held 2000, 2001).
Molecular aspects of adaptation to the climate of today and tomorrow
Large events not only leave their mark in the genome of organisms affected by them, at the same time the fine tuning of adaptation of organisms to environmental conditions is implemented by molecular mechanisms.
We study the adaptive potential of genetic variability and gene expression to the environmental conditions of today and its significance in times of climate change.
