Registration and Membership

Non-Members: You must Register for an account to purchase a membership and conduct other transactions. Future visits to the website will only require login.

After login or registration: You may conduct online transactions such as joining or renewing a membership, registering for an annual meeting and making donations.

About

The Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution is an international organization whose goals are to provide facilities for association and communication among molecular evolutionists and to further the goals of molecular evolution, as well as its practitioners and teachers. In order to accomplish these goals, the Society publishes two peer-reviewed journals, Molecular Biology and Evolution and Genome Biology and Evolution. The Society sponsors an annual meeting, as well as smaller satellite meetings or workshop on important, focused, and timely topics. It also confers honors and awards to students and researchers.

Login

Username:
Password:
Forgot username/password?

Featured News

SMBE Everywhere dates and details; Awards 2022: 15 April deadline for nominations and applications

Dear SMBE Members,

We are writing with three important announcements about the annual meeting, plus two calls for Award nominations and applications for this year.

1. We are pleased to announce the launch of SMBE Everywhere, a series of 8-12 virtual Global Symposia which will occur across the year starting in July 2022 through March 2023. The first virtual Global Symposium will occur on July 11-12, 2022, so please mark your calendars! 

This first symposium will feature the Graduate Student Excellence Symposium, the 2022 Faculty Awards Symposium, and the Presidential Address. On the second day of the symposium, we will be holding a Sustainability Plenary, an Inclusivity & Equity Panel Discussion, and the SMBE business meeting. Please mark your calendars, and see details below on Abstract Submission for the Graduate Student Excellence Symposium!

The full slate of one-day, themed virtual Global Symposia (GS) will be announced later this spring and will all be hosted on a single platform, with the option to attend one, some, or all of the Global Symposia throughout the year via a single registration portal.

2. We would like to make a call for submissions for additional one-day Global Symposia proposals. We have received outstanding submissions, but given the format for this year’s meeting, we are inviting submissions for proposals from organizers in Asia, South America, and Africa, specifically (for informal enquiries, contact smbe.contact@gmail.com). 

Please submit Global Symposia proposals by email to smbe.contact@gmail.com by 20 February 2022 with “Global Symposium proposal” in the subject line.

Symposium Proposal Guidelines

  • Symposium organisers should provide a description of the symposium (250 words max) that will be made public if selected. The symposium organisers will also provide a description of how their proposal brings forward the SMBE’s objective of equity and diversity, as well as any additional information for the committee to make an informed review (250 words max)
  • Each symposium will include 1-2 invited speakers plus a number of contributed speakers
  • Individuals can only be listed as an organiser for one symposium proposal, although organisers can be listed as an invited speaker on another proposal

3. We would like to open the SMBE Everywhere Logo Competition. Entries should be submitted in a vector-based format (*.ai, *.eps, *.pdf) to smbe.contact@gmail.com by 15 March for full consideration. The email subject line should read "SMBE everywhere logo competition" and the winning entry will be notified and will receive a $500 award.

4. The SMBE Graduate Student Excellence Award provides a forum for young investigators to showcase their exemplary research at the ann

Continue Reading →


  • Thursday, February 17, 2022
  • Comments (0)

SMBE 2022 Meeting Update

Dear SMBE Members,


Regretfully, due to the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the COVID19 pandemic, the Auckland Local Organizing Committee and SMBE Council have made the very difficult decision to cancel the planned in-person SMBE 2022 meeting in Auckland. SMBE Council is very grateful to the LOC for all of their tremendous efforts to organize this meeting.


Despite the disappointing news, we are very excited to announce plans for SMBE Everywhere in 2022. SMBE Everywhere will consist of a series of 10-12 virtual “Global Symposia” focused on a different topic staggered across the calendar between April 2022 and March 2023 (~1-2 per month). Each Global Symposium (GS) will consist of 1 day of virtual talks, a poster session, and opportunities for live Q & A and discussion.

Continue Reading →


  • Monday, January 17, 2022
  • Comments (0)

SMBE 2022 Call for Symposia Proposals – deadline 30 November 2021

Tēnā koutou, hello!

The Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE) annual conference will be held as a hybrid conference both onsite in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland in Aotearoa / New Zealand, and online, from 10-14 July 2022. This conference will be an opportunity for many of us to reconnect and to build new relationships (whanaungatanga, in our Indigenous language, Māori).

We’re delighted to announce that we are now accepting proposals for symposium topics for the 2022 conference. The deadline for symposia applications is 30 November 2021 (23:59 NZT).

Note that as a hybrid conference our symposia will be run live online as well as in-person; speakers, chairs and participants can attend remotely. We encourage symposia that capture the breadth of SMBE membership in terms of research areas, geographical area and diverse participants.

Please visit https://www.smbe2022.org/call-for-symposia/ – to access the submission portal.

Proposals will be reviewed by the committee with around 20-30 topics selected for inclusion within the scientific programme.

Key dates

  • 30 November 2021 (23:59 NZT) – Deadline for symposia applications
  • 15 December 2021 – Symposia selection process concludes
  • 20 January 2022 – Abstract submission system opens and selected symposia announced to Society
  • 20 February 2022 (23:59 NZT) – Abstract submission system closes
  • 28 April 2022 – Talks and posters finalized by SMBE reviewers
  • Proposals should span the range of interests of SMBE members, including exciting new scientific developments, and should represent the geographic and gender diversity of our membership.

Symposium Proposal Guidelines

Please review the following guidelines before submitting a Symposium Proposal:

  • Individuals can only be listed as an organiser for one symposium proposal, although organisers can be listed as an invited speaker on another proposal
  • E

    Continue Reading →


  • Friday, October 22, 2021
  • Comments (0)

SMBE SATELLITE, INTERDISCIPLINARY & REGIONAL MEETINGS - Call for Proposals

The EXTENDED deadline for submission of proposals is November 17th 2021.

Each year, SMBE provides funds in aid for SMBE SATELLITE, INTERDISCIPLINARY AND REGIONAL MEETINGS. These meetings are organized and held independent of the SMBE annual meeting.

SMBE is now calling for proposals for meetings and actions to be held between Jan 2022 and Dec 31st 2022. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to members of the molecular evolution research community to run workshops/meetings on an important, focused, and timely topic of their choice. The number of awards will depend on the quality of proposals and total cost. However, given the paucity of meetings for some time, we may fund more proposals this year.

The EXTENDED deadline for submission of proposals is November 17th 2021.

SMBE SATELLITE MEETINGS

These are workshops or small, topically focused meetings with fewer than 100 participants that are organized and held independent of the SMBE annual meeting. In the past five years, SMBE has supported multiple satellite meetings on diverse topics, a sample of our most recent Satellite meetings include:

  • “Mitochondrial Genomics and Evolution” 2017
  • “Evolution of microbes in natural and experimental populations – synthesis and synergies” 2017
  • “Molecular evolution and medicine” 2017
  • “Evolution of genome architecture” 2017
  • “Molecular evolution and the cell” 2018
  • “Genome Evolution in Pathogen Transmission and Disease” 2018
  • “Modern Methods for the study of ancient DNA” 2018
  • “Molecular Biology and Evolution of Cancer” 2019
  • “Towards an integrated concept of adaptation: uniting molecular population genetics and quantitative genetics” 2019

Continue Reading →


  • Tuesday, October 19, 2021
  • Comments (0)

Announcing SMBE Student awards 2021

We are delighted to announce this year’s Graduate Student Excellence Award winners and the winners of the Best Graduate Student Paper Awards!

Graduate Student Excellence Awards

The SMBE Graduate Student Excellence Award honors the best presentation at the Graduate Student Excellence symposium, which provides a forum for young investigators to showcase their exemplary research at the annual meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE).

Catarina Branco, Biomedical Research Center (CINBIO), University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain. Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

Title: Influence of the Last Glacial Period on the genetic diversity of current Southeast Asians

Ian Vasconcellos Caldas, Department of Computational Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Title: Inferring selective sweep parameters through supervised learning

Alida de Flamingh, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

Title: Sourcing Elephant Ivory from a Sixteenth-Century Portuguese Shipwreck

Michelle P Harwood, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Title: Recombination and population demographics impact allele-specific-expression of deleterious variants in human populations

Amanda Kowalczyk, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Title: Pan-mammalian analysis of molecular constraints underlying extended lifespan in mammals

Yeonwoo Park, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Title: Historical memory, epistasis, and contingency in long-term protein evolution

Thea F. Rogers, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

Title: Sex-specific selection drives the evolution of alternative splicing in birds

Mengyi Sun, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Title: Preferred synonymous codons are more accurately translated: proteomic evidence, among-species variation, and mechanistic basis

Best Graduate Student Paper

These awards provide recognition for outstand

Continue Reading →


  • Monday, October 18, 2021
  • Comments (0)

Upcoming SMBE Annual Conferences

We are delighted to announce our upcoming annual conferences.

• In 2022, we’ll go live again to Auckland, New Zealand. Please note that a decision will be made at the end of this year if this is possible or if we need to make this an online meeting again due to renewed lockdowns

• Our 2023 meeting will be in Ferrara, Italy, again likely with an online component.

• Our 2024 meeting will be in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (more information coming soon).

Exact dates to come, please expect all dates to be similar to the usual late June/ early July.


Continue Reading →


  • Thursday, September 30, 2021
  • Comments (0)

 


SMBE is a member of the Scientific Society Publisher Alliance

@OfficialSMBE Feed

MBE | Most Read

Molecular Biology and Evolution

Correction: Sex Differences in 20-Hydroxyecdysone Hormone Levels Control Sexual Dimorphism in Bicyclus anynana Wing Patterns

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This is a correction to: Shivam Bhardwaj and others, Sex Differences in 20-Hydroxyecdysone Hormone Levels Control Sexual Dimorphism in Bicyclus anynana Wing Patterns, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 35, Issue 2, February 2018, Pages 465–472, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx301

An Ancestral Balanced Inversion Polymorphism Confers Global Adaptation

Tue, 23 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
Since the pioneering work of Dobzhansky in the 1930s and 1940s, many chromosomal inversions have been identified, but how they contribute to adaptation remains poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, the widespread inversion polymorphism In(3R)Payne underpins latitudinal clines in fitness traits on multiple continents. Here, we use single-individual whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and published sequencing data to study the population genomics of this inversion on four continents: in its ancestral African range and in derived populations in Europe, North America, and Australia. Our results confirm that this inversion originated in sub-Saharan Africa and subsequently became cosmopolitan; we observe marked monophyletic divergence of inverted and noninverted karyotypes, with some substructure among inverted chromosomes between continents. Despite divergent evolution of this inversion since its out-of-Africa migration, derived non-African populations exhibit similar patterns of long-range linkage disequilibrium between the inversion breakpoints and major peaks of divergence in its center, consistent with balancing selection and suggesting that the inversion harbors alleles that are maintained by selection on several continents. Using RNA-sequencing, we identify overlap between inversion-linked single-nucleotide polymorphisms and loci that are differentially expressed between inverted and noninverted chromosomes. Expression levels are higher for inverted chromosomes at low temperature, suggesting loss of buffering or compensatory plasticity and consistent with higher inversion frequency in warm climates. Our results suggest that this ancestrally tropical balanced polymorphism spread around the world and became latitudinally assorted along similar but independent climatic gradients, always being frequent in subtropical/tropical areas but rare or absent in temperate climates.

A Caenorhabditis elegans Male Pheromone Feminizes Germline Gene Expression in Hermaphrodites and Imposes Life-History Costs

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
Sex pheromones not only improve the reproductive success of the recipients, but also impose costs, such as a reduced life span. The underlying mechanisms largely remain to be elucidated. Here, we show that even a brief exposure to physiological amounts of the dominant Caenorhabditis elegans male pheromone, ascr#10, alters the expression of thousands of genes in hermaphrodites. The most dramatic effect on the transcriptome is the upregulation of genes expressed during oogenesis and the downregulation of genes associated with male gametogenesis. This result reveals a way in which social signals help to resolve the inherent conflict between spermatogenesis and oogenesis in a simultaneous hermaphrodite, presumably to optimally align reproductive function with the presence of potential mating partners. We also found that exposure to ascr#10 increased the risk of persistent intestinal infections in hermaphrodites due to pathological pharyngeal hypertrophy. Thus, our study reveals ways in which the male pheromone can not only have beneficial effects on the recipients’ reproduction, but also cause harmful consequences that reduce life span.

GBE | Most Read

Genome Biology & Evolution

Near-Chromosomal-Level Genome Assembly of the Sea Urchin Echinometra lucunter, a Model for Speciation in the Sea

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
Echinometra lucunter, the rock-boring sea urchin, is a widely distributed echinoid and a model for ecological studies of reproduction, responses to climate change, and speciation. We present a near chromosome-level genome assembly of E. lucunter, including 21 scaffolds larger than 10 Mb predicted to represent each of the chromosomes of the species. The 760.4 Mb assembly includes a scaffold N50 of 30.0 Mb and BUSCO (benchmarking universal single-copy orthologue) single copy and a duplicated score of 95.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Ab-initio gene model prediction and annotation with transcriptomic data constructed 33,989 gene models composing 50.4% of the assembly, including 37,036 transcripts. Repetitive elements make up approximately 39.6% of the assembly, and unresolved gap sequences are estimated to be 0.65%. Whole genome alignment with Echinometra sp. EZ revealed high synteny and conservation between the two species, further bolstering Echinometra as an emerging genus for comparative genomics studies. This genome assembly represents a high-quality genomic resource for future evolutionary and developmental studies of this species and more broadly of echinoderms.

A High Frequency of Chromosomal Duplications in Unicellular Algae Is Compensated by Translational Regulation

Tue, 23 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
Although duplications have long been recognized as a fundamental process driving major evolutionary innovations, direct estimates of spontaneous chromosome duplication rates, leading to aneuploid karyotypes, are scarce. Here, from mutation accumulation (MA) experiments, we provide the first estimates of spontaneous chromosome duplication rates in six unicellular eukaryotic species, which range from 1 × 10−4 to 1 × 10−3 per genome per generation. Although this is ∼5 to ∼60 times less frequent than spontaneous point mutations per genome, chromosome duplication events can affect 1–7% of the total genome size. In duplicated chromosomes, mRNA levels reflected gene copy numbers, but the level of translation estimated by polysome profiling revealed that dosage compensation must be occurring. In particular, one duplicated chromosome showed a 2.1-fold increase of mRNA but translation rates were decreased to 0.7-fold. Altogether, our results support previous observations of chromosome-dependent dosage compensation effects, providing evidence that compensation occurs during translation. We hypothesize that an unknown posttranscriptional mechanism modulates the translation of hundreds of transcripts from genes located on duplicated regions in eukaryotes.

T Residues Preceded by Runs of G Are Hotspots of T→G Mutation in Bacteria

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
The rate of mutation varies among positions in a genome. Local sequence context can affect the rate and has different effects on different types of mutation. Here, I report an effect of local context that operates to some extent in all bacteria examined: the rate of T→G mutation is greatly increased by preceding runs of three or more G residues. The strength of the effect increases with the length of the run. In Salmonella, in which the effect is strongest, a G run of length three 3 increases the rate by a factor of ∼26, a run of length 4 increases it by almost a factor of 100, and runs of length 5 or more increase it by a factor of more than 400 on average. The effect is much stronger when the T is on the leading rather than the lagging strand of DNA replication. Several observations eliminate the possibility that this effect is an artifact of sequencing error.

Genome-Wide Discovery of Structural Variants Reveals Distinct Variant Dynamics for Two Closely Related Monilinia Species

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
Structural variants (SVs) are variants with sizes bigger than 50 bp and capable of changing the size, copy number, location, orientation, and sequence content of genomic DNA. Although these variants have been proven to be extensive and involved in many evolutionary processes along the tree of life, there is still insufficient information on many fungal plant pathogens. In this study, the extent of SVs, as well as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), has been determined for two prominent species of the Monilinia genus (the causal agents of brown rot disease in pome and stone fruits): Monilinia fructicola and Monilinia laxa for the first time. The genomes of M. fructicola were found to be more variant-rich in contrast to M. laxa based on the reference-based variant calling (with a total number of 266.618 and 190.599 SNPs and 1,540 and 918 SVs, respectively). The extent, as well as distribution of SVs, presented high conservation within the species and high diversity between the species. Investigation of potential functional effects of characterized variants revealed high potential relevance of SVs. Moreover, the detailed characterization of copy number variations (CNVs) for each isolate revealed that around 0.67% of M. fructicola genomes and 2.06% of M. laxa genomes are copy number variables. The variant catalog as well as distinct variant dynamics within and between the species presented in this study opens doors for many further research questions.

The First Genome of the Cold-Water Octocoral, the Pink Sea Fan, Eunicella verrucosa

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Abstract
Cold-water corals form an important part of temperate benthic ecosystems by increasing three-dimensionality and providing an important ecological substrate for other benthic fauna. However, the fragile three-dimensional structure and life-history characteristics of cold-water corals can leave populations vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. Meanwhile, the ability of temperate octocorals, particularly shallow-water species, to respond to adjustments in their environment linked to climate change has not been studied. This study reports the first genome assembly of the pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa), a temperate shallow-water octocoral species. We produced an assembly of 467 Mb, comprising 4,277 contigs and an N50 of 250,417 bp. In total, 213 Mb (45.96% of the genome) comprised repetitive sequences. Annotation of the genome using RNA-seq data derived from polyp tissue and gorgonin skeleton resulted in 36,099 protein-coding genes after 90% similarity clustering, capturing 92.2% of the complete Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) ortholog benchmark genes. Functional annotation of the proteome using orthology inference identified 25,419 annotated genes. This genome adds to the very few genomic resources currently available in the octocoral community and represents a key step in allowing scientists to investigate the genomic and transcriptomic responses of octocorals to climate change.