The latest in Antarctic research from the Marine Omics lab,  Sally, Ira and Jan used a novel genomic approach to answer if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) had collapsed during the Last Interglacial period, and they did so by looking into the genomic loci of an Antarctic octopus (Pareledone turqueti). They found a clear, distinct connectivity between Ross Sea and Weddell Sea, dating it back to the last interglacial period, that is different from the signal of the octopus’s general circumpolar movement around the continent. By comparing the genomic data against contrasting hypothesised scenarios via demographic modelling, including no, partial or complete WAIS collapse in the past, their findings suggest the Ross and Weddell connectivity was only possible if the WAIS completely collapsed and opened the seaway connecting the two basins.

A focus of Sally’s PhD research this paper is available as a pre-print on bioRxiv and has certainly made waves, with an interview in The Guardian, IFLScience and has been re-imaged by the creator First Dog on the Moon!  Their research is a successful transdisciplinary example demonstrating that only by bringing different disciplines together, we can have the best shot to help solving the current climate change.

A new paper by Jia in Molecular Biology and Evolution showcases the power of whole genome sequencing to understand adaptive evolution in corals. Thanks to our collaborators in Western Australia we were able to obtain samples for deep WGS on 75 corals, including samples from the inshore Kimberley reefs and two offshore atolls. The results revealed very recent divergence driven by founder effects and strong selection, especially in the inshore reefs.

Paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msac201

Press Release: https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/dna-reveals-the-past-and-future-of-coral-reefs

New paper by Sally, Catarina and Jan in Ecology & Evolution, uses COI sequences to investigate the population genetic patterns of the Antarctic brittle stars Ophionotus victoriae and O. hexactis with contrasting life histories (broadcasting vs brooding) and morphology (5 vs 6 arms). They found that, throughout the Pleistocene glacial maxima, O. victoriae likely persisted in deep sea refugia; whereas O. hexactis likely persisted in Antarctic island refugia. This work proposes the evolutionary innovations in O. hexactis (increase in arm number and a switch from broadcast spawning to brooding) could be linked to survival within island refugia, which open up new avenues for future genomic research!   

New paper by Catarina and Jan in Molecular Ecology, (full article here), investigates genome-wide divergence, introgression patterns and inferred demographic history between species pairs of all six extant rock lobster species within the genus Jasus – species with a larval duration of up to two years. Funded by the Australian Research Council, this work shows the important effect of habitat and demographic processes on the recent divergence of species in the genus.

New paper by Ira, Jan and Jia in Science Advances (full article here), uses shallow whole genome sequencing to look at demographic history and selection for Acropora tenuis. The main findings are outlined in this tweet thread. Maria Nayfa also made this nice video of Ira explaining why genomes are so useful for understanding the history of the GBR.