Exploring the Evolution of Ferality in Plants
Makenzie with some wild cabbage near Dorset, UK
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The process of crop feralization, i.e., free-living populations that have escaped cultivation, is understudied. Some researchers have argued that feral populations are harmful, while others suggest that these plants are useful, especially in the face of climate change. This project aims to extend our understanding of feralization from weedy rice and grain crops to vegetable crops, expanding upon knowledge about the frequency and timing, genetic architecture, potential breeding applications, and environmental conditions that drive feralization.
One example of this is "wild" cabbage (Brassica oleracea). This feral plant has established a global presence, from England to Chile, New Zealand, France, Portugal, and the United States. Given the widespread distribution of these "wild" cabbages, feral B. oleracea serves as an ideal candidate for testing various hypotheses related to parallel evolution and feralization. Understanding the intricacies of feralization, particularly in the context of crop species like B. oleracea, holds significant implications for reimagining innovative strategies aimed at ensuring future food security. |
Using Digitized Collections to Identify Sources of Diversity For Future Crop Improvement
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Crop wild relatives (CWRs) have gained renewed attention due to advances in genome editing techniques like CRISPR, which enable the full utilization of their potential as a source of diversity for cultivated crops. As climate change threatens global crop production, there is a growing need to develop resilient crops that can withstand changing environmental conditions. CWRs offer a valuable source of diversity for meeting this demand. However, while efforts are underway to collect and conserve CWRs in germplasm banks, herbaria have been overlooked as a resource. This projects aims to highlight the important role of herbarium records, which now have digital equivalents, in addressing large-scale research questions related to CWRs.
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Poster presented at the International Botanical Congress in Madrid (2024) on this topic.
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The Brassicales Genome Initiative
Phylogeny of 17 families in the Brassicales and character trait matrix. The presence of a given trait is marked by a filled dark-green square. Traits that are unknown or absent are in light green. Possible locations of At-β are marked in blue stars, with family-specific whole-genome duplications in orange. Traits displayed are: A) C4, B) extremophytism, C) glucosinolates, D) ancestral woodiness, and E) dioecy.
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The Brassicales is a phenotypically diverse order of plants that display incredible variation in traits. With more than 4,700 species spread across 17 families, the Brassicales is an ideal phylogenetic model for mining the genetic variation underlying the repeated evolution of traits such as photosynthesis system variation, the evolution of specialized metabolites, and transitions between herbaceousness and woodiness. However, our current knowledge of the Brassicales has mostly been narrowly focused within the Brassicaceae family. In the project we are working to sequence and assemble a chromosome-scale genome of at least one member from each of the other 16 families. With high-quality chromosome-scale genomes and annotations, the evolutionary history of these traits can be reconstructed using ancestral gene and genome reconstructions at each node in the species tree. Further, we will use the ancestral genome reconstructions in the context of tandem gene duplication and polyploidy to investigate the evolution of complex, specialized metabolites like glucosinolates and oil production. Altogether, this project leverages the power of phylogenomics and comparative genomics to elucidate the genetic underpinnings of agriculturally and environmentally useful traits.
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Understanding the Evolutionary History of Amsinckiinae (Boraginaceae)
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Commonly known as "cat's eye" or the "popcorn flower," the genus Cryptantha in the subtribe Amsinckiinae (Boraginaceae, the forget-me-not family), exhibits remarkably similar floral components, often leading to misidentifications in the field and phylogenetic discrepancies. However, a suite of characters makes Cryptantha an appealing model system for the study of phenotypic evolution, including the evolution of novel traits following long-distance dispersal and adaptation to extreme environments.
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