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 | Genomics of Plant Domestication The Molecular Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Development Plant Gene Family Structure and Evolution Evolution of Social Amoeba Genomics of Plant Domestication Crops are plant species that have evolved in a cultural context to provide food and other products for human society. Crop species are fascinating subjects for evolutionary study, since they are examples of species that have undergone rapid diversification under intense selective pressures. They also permit us to understand the dynamic interface between genetics, evolution and human culture. We are studying the evolution of genes in Rice (Oryza sativa). By using tools of molecular and evoutionary genomics, these studies provide insights into the processes and mechanisms that accompany cultural selection on plant species during domestication events. The Molecular Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Development Why do different species look different from one another? How do developmental patterns change as a result of local adaptation? How are environmental signals integrated by organisms to condition an appropriate developmental response? These are some of the questions that we attempt to address by studying the molecular evolution of genes that control inflorescence development in the wild mustard weed Arabidopsis thaliana. We are engaged in assessing the evolutionary forces that act in plant developmental pathways at the species level, and in mapping and isolating genes that underlie natural variation in shoot architectures and life histories. Plant Gene Family Structure and Evolution Plant genomes are largely comprised of gene families whose members have arise by patterns of gene duplication, divergence and loss. We are developing a phylogenetic database of gene families found in the genomes of several land plants, including rice and Arabidopsis, and using this database to address questions srrounsing selection accompanying gene family evolution, regulatory diversification and the ecvolution of interaction networks Evolution of Social Amoeba The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum has emerged as a model system for the study of social ecology and evolution. Upon starvation, individual free-living cells swarm and form a co-operative fruiting body, in which some individuals altruistically provide benefits to the spores than are subsequentially dispersed. We are examining the molecular population genetics of Dictyostelium, the relationship of nucleotide variation to kin discrimination and fruiting body formation, and transcriptome changes upon development of interactive structures. |