Evolution of duplicated pathways and networks

Polyploid speciation is exceptionally common in plants, often operating sympatrically to saltationally generate new lineages.

Comparative genomics, domestication, and genome size evolution

Comparative evolutionary genomics and domestication genomics are among the most active areas of research in the lab. Please check back here often for updates on our massive genomic resequencing effort, our comparative molecular evolutionary analyses, and our work on domestication genomics.

Biodiversity and the discovery of new cotton species

Somewhat remarkably, given its importance in human commence, new species of cotton continue to be discovered.  Our lab is among the few worldwide that maintains an active interest in fundamental plant exploration and discovery in the cotton genus.

Evolution of duplicate gene expression

One of the important realizations to emerge from numerous studies of polyploid plants is that polyploid creates massive alterations in gene expression.

Cytonuclear Evolution

One underexplored dimension of allopolyploid evolution is cytonuclear interactions. Potential stoichiometric disruption caused by merging two nuclear genomes but only inheriting one set of progenitor organellar genomes (usually the maternal) suggests that cytonuclear accommodation is a necessary aspect of allopolyploid evolution. Our exploration of cytonuclear accommodation in allotetraploids of Gossypium has contributed initial understanding about how nuclear homoeologous genes (from both parental diploid species) encoding component subunits of one protein complex have evolved in the context of having their counterpart subunits encoded by genes from only one (the maternal) parent.

Cotton fiber and the domestication process

One of the exciting opportunities stimulated by the convergence of modern genomic approaches with other areas of biology is that of resolving the enigmatic processes by which new phenotypes arise.

Evolutionary Proteomics

Because mRNA abundance and protein amounts often are poorly related, it is important to extend the evolutionary analysis of polyploidy and domestication to the proteomic level.