Biology Thursday seminar continues 6th of November, 12:15, on site in room SÄ110,
with Dr. Jana Flury, Ecology and Genetics department, Univ. Oulu, on
" Living at the limit: Genomic insights into plant adaptation to harsh environments"

How do plants survive and thrive at the edges of their ecological limits? Adaptation to new or changing environments is key to a species’ persistence, and while some well-known “genes of adaptation” can drive phenotypic shifts, also structural genomic changes might play a role. In this talk, I will explore how transposable elements have shaped the genomes of different Brassicaceae species in response to geo-climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, latitude, and elevation. I will also discuss how a shift in the mating system of North American Arabidopsis lyrata relates to the species’ range limits and the genomic consequences of this transition. Finally, I will share preliminary insights from my current project Genomics of northern adaptation led by Academy Researcher Fellow Tiina Mattila, where we are uncovering the genetic basis of high-latitude adaptation and the distribution of genetic variation in European A. lyrata.