Palaeontological and Molecular Approaches to Early Evolution

Tuesday 12-13 May, 2015 , At the Evolutionary Center (EBC), Uppsala University In the Fries Hall, 10.00 a.m -16.30 p.m.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences´Jubilee Symposia – Open to the Public

Organising committee: Chair: Per Ahlberg, Henning Blom, Hans Ellegren, Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, Tatjana Haitina, Dan Larhammar, Bettina Ryll, Sophie Sanchez, Daniel Snitting and Björn Wittrock.

The origin and early evolution of was one of the most important episodes in the history of life on Earth. From humble beginnings as soft-bodied marine organisms more than 500 million years ago, the backboned animals evolved brains and complex sense organs, jaws, fins and mineralized tissues; in the seas and waterways of the world they diversified into a vast range of body forms and ecological roles, from small mud-grubbing filter feeders to 10-metre apex predators with jaws like sheet-metal cutters; and finally, around 400 million years ago, they began to conquer the land. Today, their living descendants number more than sixty thousand species of fishes and tetrapods (land vertebrates), including our own species.

In recent decades the study of early vertebrate evolution has undergone a major renaissance and is now one of the most exciting areas within evolutionary biology. This is due partly to a range of stunning fossil discoveries, but also reflects dramatic new developments in genomics and developmental biology that allow us to begin exploring the molecular and developmental basis for the success of the vertebrates.

On 12-13 May, an international group of world-leading researchers on early vertebrate evolution, covering all areas of the subject from fossils to genomes, will gather at Uppsala University to present and discuss their findings. This is a unique opportunity to hear the latest news from the foremost experts on this crucial period in our own evolutionary history.

The invited speakers are: Chris Amemiya, Benaroya Research Institute; Martin Brazeau, Imperial College London; Mee-mann Chang, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology; Jenny Clack, University of Cambridge; Michael Coates, University of ; Armand de Ricqlès, Collège de France; Phil Donoghue, University of Bristol; Shigehiro Kuraku, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies; Shigeru Kuratani, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology; Lauren Sallan, University of Pennsylvania; Kate Trinajstic, Curtin University, B. Venkatesh IMCB, A*STAR and Min Zhu, Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology.

For more information and registration: kva.se/evolution2015