Conference: Genomic Consequences of Meiotic Drive Workshop

The “Genomic Consequences of Meiotic Drive” Workshop will be held in Arolla, Switzerland in June 2023 and involve 20-30 attendees. Meiotic drive is a phenomenon that occurs across most eukaryotic groups of organisms (mammals, plants, insects, fungi, nematodes). Instead of gametogenesis resulting in equal representation in the gametes, gametogenesis in a meiotic drive system results in mostly one of the two homologous chromosomes. Thus, meiotic drive loci cheat normal Mendelian segregation which aids their spread through populations. Meiotic drive has several potential evolutionary consequences, but it also leaves a profound signature on the genomes of species with drivers. The enormous amount of genomic data now available for meiotic drive system will facilitate a synthetic review of the genomic consequences of meiotic drive. Our approach is to bring researchers together to present their work on genomic consequences of meiotic drive, then brainstorm and draft a review article that synthesizes the field. This model follows two prior reviews on different aspects of meiotic drive published in 2016 and 2020. Our work will provide a comprehensive overview of the field for both specialists in meiotic drive and those who need to consider meiotic drive as a tangent to their own research questions. This work will be impactful to the genetics/genomics community as a whole. The workshop is also designed to elevate the research of newcomers to this field. Our attendee list is purposefully enriched for early career researchers and researchers from diverse backgrounds. The format of the workshop allows for easy interaction between researchers from all levels. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.