How genomes of endangered marine mammals provide insights into their (and our) evolution and survival

About the talk

For billions of years, the solutions to life's problems have been tested massively in parallel through the crucible of evolution. Now that the cost of genome sequencing has dropped from $3 billion USD for the first human genome to under $1,000 per genome, we can increasingly use cutting-edge genomic tools originally designed for model organisms like yeast, mice, and flies to study more intriguing or bizarre branches of the evolutionary tree, from colossal and long-lived baleen whales to the communities of bacteria co-existing in our own colons.

Sequencing the genomes of a wide array of these “non-model” organisms can shed light onto species that could never be kept in a lab and allow us to gain biological insights that may aid our own health and understanding of ourselves. Beyond human health, genomic tools are increasingly being employed in the study and conservation of endangered species. These species' genomes can tell us about their deep evolutionary history, but also carry imprints of catastrophic events as recent as the fur trade or whaling, allowing us to understand the lasting impacts of human-induced population decline and design models to predict their possible genetic ‘futures.’

In this session of Science Plus, Dr. Beichman describes how genomics of non-model organisms can inform conservation, evolutionary biology, and human health. She discusses a series of genomic vignettes from her research, including how whale gut bacteria reflect their host's evolutionary history, how sea otters evolved to live in the marine environment and were genetically impacted by the fur trade, and how DNA mutates across the mammalian tree of life.

About the speaker

Dr. Beichman is a postdoc in Dr. Kelley Harris' lab at UW Genome Sciences. Her research uses genomics to learn about mutation and demographic history in wild mammals that have experienced extreme demographic events or remarkable evolutionary transitions, including sea otters, bears, and whales. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020, advised by Dr. Kirk Lohmueller and Dr. Robert Wayne. As a BMHA trainee she is looking at how mutation suppression may allow for healthy aging in large and long-lived whale species.

Dr. Beichman led the sequencing of the first sea otter genome. Her father, Charles Beichman of Caltech and NASA, spoke to Science Plus in February 2022 about the James Webb Space Telescope.