Pathogens in the Modern World: Evolution, Survival and Outbreaks

Sex through mating offers populations a key advantage: it enables genetic shuffling and eliminates harmful gene combinations in offspring. Yet, plant-pathogenic fungi switch between sexual and clonal reproduction, with some persisting almost entirely clonally. If sex is so beneficial for maintaining populations, why does asexuality persist in many fungal lineages? What are the trade-offs? And how do these fungi continue diversifying their genetic repertoire without sex? Using the cereal blast fungus as an example, I will explore these questions.

COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the ongoing threat of pandemics, but disease outbreaks have shaped human history for centuries. Utilising genetic material extracted from bones and teeth discovered in archaeological sites, it’s now possible to analyse the genomes of historical pathogens. In this talk, I'll describe how ancient DNA is shedding light on one of history's most devastating diseases: Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the Black Death. I'll dive into how we can reconstruct how plague spread through time and comment on how Y. pestis continues to affect us today.