Abstract

This conference series has become known for exploring yeasts as models to study questions of general relevance to evolution and ecology. Experts will speak on a range of topics, including evolution theory, ecology, genetics, cell biology, genomics, systems biology, metabolic modelling and engineering. The focus of this conference will be on comparative and experimental strategies to explore evolutionary questions, from field studies to computer simulations to comparative genomics. Central evolutionary questions will be discussed, using yeast and a range of other species whose biology is well understood and to determine the degree to which that biology is conserved in more distantly related species. The aim is to move from correlative studies based on comparative work to more causal studies based on broad experimental support. This problem is particularly pressing in the age of cheap and easy sequencing.