Evolution by gene and genome duplications

Each organism typically has (tens of) thousands of genes in its genome that perform various molecular and cellular functions, but how did these genes originate? The answer for most genes is by the duplication of another gene. In fact, all the genes (the entire genome) can get duplicated simultaneously on some instances. Thus, gene and genome duplications are considered key driving forces of evolution and are one of the most important topics in molecular evolutionary biology. In this talk, I will introduce the background and basic concepts related to gene and genome duplications.

The talk will be aimed at non-experts so non-biologists are also welcome to attend.