Thank you for your interest. Future Food Beacon closed in July 2023 and these pages will not be further updated. We thank all those involved in making the Beacon a success. The 糖心原创 Food Systems Institute launched in Aug 2023 please visit their webpages for more information.
Double the trouble (and double the gain?): Understanding whole genome duplication
What happens when an organism duplicates its entire genome? How does that complicate physiology? Can it promote evolution?
The perils of rapid genome diversification
Lead researcher: Professor Levi Yant
The sudden duplication of an entire genome is perhaps most dramatic mutation possible. In a single generation – a blink in evolutionary time - whole genome duplication (WGD) presents novel dynamics to the confined environment of the nucleus. How is this endured?
By this sudden step, WGD lineages have engaged in a high-risk, high-gain strategy: on the one hand there is a concrete problem presented by having to manage all that DNA - having too many chromosome crossovers when the cells divide – but on the other hand there is potential gain created through increasing the evolutionary potential encoded by twice as many gene variants.
This project focuses on the repeatability of WGD-associated adaptations that have repeatedly occurred across the plant and animal kingdoms. Using large-scale comparative genomics and population genomics, this project examines different, independently-derived polyploid plant and amphibian species.
This fundamental work has implications for helping enhance crop resilience, as a clear majority of crop species are WGD and WGD is associated with increased adaptability during stress.
This project is funded by ERC.