The intention of this conference series is to explore the concept of using yeast as a model system in evolution and ecology, building on our deep understanding of its physiology and genetics, and taking advantage of sophisticated techniques to manipulate the yeast cell. The meetings will continue in the spirit of the EMBO workshop which preceded this series of conferences and the 1st Conference that we organized in 2010 in Heidelberg. Based on this experience and the responses from these previous events, we concentrate on four core issues in evolutionary biology, providing emphasis in all four areas on wetlab experimental approaches:
The first is the overall architecture of the genome and the major processes that have contributed to its evolution.
The second is the ecological and genetic structure of natural populations that forms the stage on which this evolution has taken place.
The third involves the mechanisms of selection that lead to adaptation, and in particular how these can be studied experimentally in the laboratory.
The fourth is the use of yeast to illuminate important problems in adaptation,especially the evolution of sex and mating systems.
The conference series will bring together scientists working in all of these areas to show how integrated research programs using yeast as a model could be as successful in ecology and evolution as they have been in cellular and molecular biology. To account for this, we will for the first time include two special sessions where we will discuss methodological issues relevant for different fields in order to stimulate a methodological exchange between the different disciplines.
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