Heredity Podcast

In this episode, Prof Thomas Madsen (Deakin University) discusses how a long-term study of an adder population has provided evidence that polyandry and non-random fertilisation can have positive effects on genetic diversity. Thomas argues that factoring in mating dynamics could help to improve conservation genetic analyses.

In this episode, Anna Hewett discusses how different factors have led to the patterns of homozygosity observed in a population of red deer living on the Scottish Isle of Rum.

After five years with the journal, James Burgon is leaving the Heredity Podcast. But fear not! Because the podcast is being left in a pair of safe and familiar hands. In this episode we meet our new host: Michael Pointer. Also joining the episode is new Editor-in-Chief Prof. Sara Goodacre.

Every year, Heredity publishes some outstanding student-led papers, and to recognise the quality of this work the journal runs a student paper prize. So, what makes a paper stand out? Find out, as Co-Editor-in-Chief Aurora Ruiz-Herrera joins the podcast to explore the three best student-led papers of 2022.  Find the full Student Prize Longlist Collection here: https://www.nature.com/collections/bvttbjrkyx

Dr Emiliano Trucchi (Marche Polytechnic University) and Dr Céline Le Bohec (University of Strasbourg; Monaco Scientific Center) discuss the genetic basis of cold adaptation in the emperor penguin. Céline also shares her experience of visiting Antarctica. This episode explores the recent Heredity paper: “Selection-driven adaptation to the extreme Antarctic environment in the Emperor penguin”

In this episode, Dr Sara Nilson  (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), Dr Jared Decker (University of Missouri) and Prof. Leslie Lyons (University of Missouri) discuss their quest to find the geographical origins of cat domestication. This episode explores the recent Heredity paper: “Genetics of randomly bred cats support the cradle of cat domestication being in the Near East”

In this episode, Dr Paul Maier tells us about his research on the landscape genetics of the Yosemite toad, which only inhabits high-altitude meadows in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. This episode explores the recent Heredity paper: “Landscape genetics of a sub-alpine toad: climate change predicted to induce upward range shifts via asymmetrical migration corridors”

Social interactions play an essential role in the lives of many animals. But how do we disentangle the genetic and non-genetic factors influencing sociality? In this episode, Dr Irene Godoy (Bielefeld University) tells us about her research on sociality in capuchin monkeys. This episode explores the recent Heredity paper: “Genetic, maternal, and environmental influences on sociality in a pedigreed primate population”