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Abstract Detail



Emerging Leader Lecture - Michael Barker

Barker, Michael [1].

Genome Duplication, Natural Selection, and the Evolution of Plant Diversity.

Polyploidy, or speciation by genome duplication, has experienced a renaissance of interest this century. Analyses of plant genomes revealed that they have been duplicated many times and raised numerous questions about the role of genome duplication during plant evolution. Here, I present results from one of the largest analyses of plant genomic data to date. Using a combination of phylogenomic and novel machine learning approaches, our analyses of data from more than 1400 species revealed that the incidence of ancient polyploidy increases nearly 500% from the algae to flowering plants. Significantly, the number of observed WGDs in our empirical data is consistent with simulations based on a range of polyploid and diploid net diversification rates. Collectively, our macroevolutionary analyses suggest that genome duplications have been an important contributor to the evolution of plant diversity. These macroevolutionary patterns and the biology of ploidal changes provide many hypotheses about how genome duplication may drive diversity. To these hypotheses, we have focussed our efforts on two different study systems: the recent and anciently duplicated genomes of Brassica and the resurrection plants of Selaginella , the only lineage of land plants without an ancient WGD. Our analyses indicate that substitution rates are higher in polyploids compared to their diploid relatives. Further, analyses of the domestication and genetic diversity of the crop Brassicas indicates that genetic variation from polyploidy, even paleopolyploidy, can be important for recent adaptation and selection. Given the distribution of polyploidy throughout the history of green plants, our results suggest that the genetic legacy of WGDs may significantly contribute to adaptation even millions of years later and may ultimately drive the diversification of polyploid lineages.


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1 - University Of Arizona, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Special Presentation
Session: S2, Emerging Leader Lecture
Location: Fort Worth Ballroom 4/Omni Hotel
Date: Monday, June 26th, 2017
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: S2001
Abstract ID:598
Candidate for Awards:None


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