Mathematical Models and Experimental Microbial Systems: Tools for Studying Evolution

拟议中的研讨会的目标是将数学家和生命科学家聚集在一起，讨论挑战并探索进化生态学中一些主要问题的解决方案。特别是，研讨会将围绕最近一期《科学》杂志中强调的两个问题展开：是什么决定了物种多样性？合作行为是如何演变的？人们认识到，要增进我们对与这些问题有关的问题的理解，就需要作出重大的跨学科努力，涉及数学和生物界之间的相互作用。处理上述问题的一种方法是进行实验室实验，在那里可以观察到进化的发生，并且可以在遗传层面上获得高质量的数据。最近，使用包括细菌、病毒、酵母和一些黏菌在内的微生物进行的此类研究激增。与此同时，许多进化的数学模型正在被开发出来，做出了重要的预测，但通过完全受到数据的挑战来测试和完善这些模型仍然是罕见的。因此，举办一个将生物和数学社区聚集在一起的研讨会将是极其重要和及时的。拟议中的3天研讨会将于2007年1月在巴斯大学举行，这是一个更广泛的研究计划的第一步，该计划涉及创建一个跨学科网络，旨在弥合两个社区之间的差距，并建立联系，从而导致长期的合作。

The goal of the proposed workshop is to bring together mathematicians and life scientists to discuss challenges and explore solutions to some of the major problems in evolutionary ecology. In particular the workshop will focus around two questions that have been highlighted in a recent issue of Science: What determines species diversity? How did cooperative behaviour evolve? It was acknowledged that the advancement of our understanding of the issues relating to these questions will require a major interdisciplinary effort involving interactions between mathematical and biological communities.One way of approaching the above problems is to perform laboratory experiments where evolution can be observed as it happens and where good quality data at the genetic level can be obtained. There has been a recent explosion of such studies using micro-organism that include bacteria, viruses, yeast and some slime moulds. At the same time numerous mathematical models of evolution are being developed, important predictions are being made but it is still rare that the models are tested and refined through being fully challenged by data.Holding a workshop that will bring together biological and mathematical communities would therefore be extremely important and timely.The proposed 3 day workshop to be held at the University of Bath in January 2007 is the first step of a wider research plan that involves the creation of an interdisciplinary network aimed at bridging the gap between the two communities and forging links that will lead to long-term collaborations.