Impact of whole-genome duplications on the genetic and genomic architecture of adaptation

Whole-genome duplication (WGD) is arguably the most severe mutation that an organism may undergo.

As such, WGDs are often fatal, but the resulting polyploids that survive the initial shock to cellular processes may ultimately thrive.

Whether conditions created by WGDs are beneficial or detrimental to adaptation is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology, with important implications for domestication and crop breeding.

A key determinant of evolutionary responses is the genetic and genomic architecture of adaptive traits: i.e. the control of phenotypes by one or many loci, the interactions between alleles, positions of loci in relation to genomic features, and structural arrangements.

By combining cutting-edge evolutionary modelling, novel machine-learning tools, and multi-species genomic data from short- and long-read sequencing, I propose to determine how WGDs alter the genetic and genomic architecture of local adaptation.

Such knowledge will advance our understanding of the evolutionary success of polyploids, provide insights into factors influencing the current distribution of polypoid populations and species, as well as yield important information for predicting how polyploids respond to environmental change.