Dr. Jeremy Bono
Professor, Graduate Program Director
Department Biology at CU Colorado Springs
NIH Postdoctoral Excellence in Research and Teaching (PERT) Fellow
NSF International Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., Colorado State University - Biology
B.A. with High Honors and Distinction, Kenyon College
Date: October 24th
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: Denver Campus – Science Building, Room 2001
Postmating molecular interactions and the evolution of reproductive incompatibilities between species
The female reproductive tract serves as the arena for a series of highly coevolved molecular interactions between the sexes. These interactions are often cooperative—facilitating fertilization and reproductive success—but they can also be antagonistic when postcopulatory sexual selection and conflict are strong. Such postcopulatory dynamics can drive rapid divergence in reproductive traits, leading to postmating-prezygotic (PMPZ) reproductive incompatibilities.
In this seminar, I will discuss my lab’s integrative work combining genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic approaches to uncover the molecular origins of PMPZ isolation. I will also highlight our recent discovery of a novel form of postmating interaction: RNA molecules transferred from males to females during copulation that are subsequently translated by the female. Because seminal fluid RNAs are found in diverse animal lineages, these findings may have broad implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms of reproduction across the tree of life.