BYRAPPA VENKATESH
Byrappa Venkatesh obtained his PhD degree from the
National University of Singapore. He pursued
postdoctoral studies under the supervision of Nobel
Laureate Sydney Brenner at the Medical Research
Council, Cambridge, UK where he started working on
the pufferfish genome. He returned to Singapore in
1992 and continued working on the pufferfish genome
at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB).
He took a lead role in sequencing the whole-genome of
the pufferfish which was completed and published in
2002 soon after the publication of the human genome
sequence. Venkatesh subsequently identified the elephant shark as a model
cartilaginous fish genome and led an international consortium that sequenced
the whole-genome of the elephant shark. In addition, he has been involved in
sequencing genomes of several fishes including the coelacanth, Japanese
lamprey, African cichlids, mudskippers, Asian arowana, ocean sunfish, spotted
gar and the seahorse. Venkatesh is currently a Professor and Research Director
in IMCB and an adjunct Professor of the Department of Paediatrics, National
University of Singapore. In addition, he is a chairperson of the 'Genome 10K'
project which aims to catalogue genomes of 10,000 vertebrates. In 2004,
Venkatesh was awarded Singapore’s prestigious “National Science Award”.
His current research focuses on using a comparative genomics approach for
better understanding the structure, function and evolution of the human genome,
and the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity in fishes. He has recently forayed
into medical genomics, and has been working on identifying variants associated
with rare genetic diseases.
Evolution and Diversity of Fishes: The Largest Group of Extant Vertebrates
The bony fishes (Osteichthyes) first appeared in the Devonian period and went
on to give rise to two lineages, the lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii) and rayfinned fishes (Actinopterygii). The lobe-finned fishes led to the emergence of
present day land animals (tetrapods) including humans. The transition of lobefinned fishes from aquatic life to terrestrial life is a major evolutionary event in
the history of vertebrates and was accompanied by many changes in morphology
and physiology that enabled vertebrates to successfully colonize the terrestrial
habitat. The ray-finned fishes on the other hand continued to diversify and
dominate the aquatic habitat leading to the origin of a major fish group called the
teleosts, which are the largest group of extant vertebrates. With about 30,000
species, teleosts represent nearly half of extant vertebrates. Teleosts are also the
most diverse group of vertebrates and exhibit remarkable diversity in their
morphology, physiology, behaviour and adaptations. The genetic basis of rapid
speciation and adaptive radiation of teleosts is a major question in evolutionary
biology. To address this issue, whole-genomes of several fishes have been
sequenced and analyzed. My presentation will highlight how comparative
genomics combined with wet-lab experiments such as transgenesis and gene
editing have started providing insights into the genetic basis of phenotypic
diversity in fishes.
Lab website:
http://www.imcb.a-star.edu.sg/php/venkatesh.php