Plant Ecological Genetics

Our work aims at understanding the genetic basis of ecological and evolutionary processes. To achieve this goal, we combine the use of molecular methods with experiments in common gardens and in the field. Our main study organisms include the White and Red Campion (Silene latifolia and S. dioica), the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, wild tomatoes (Solanum spp.) and grasses with their fungal symbionts.

Using the closely related species S. latifolia and S. dioica we investigate the ecological factors that contribute to reproductive isolation, the genomic composition of hybrids, and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of gene introgression. Of particular interest in this research is the role of sex chromosomes in adaptation and reproductive isolation.

With the model species Arabidopsis thaliana we investigate how plants adapt to extreme and changing environmental conditions in the Swiss Alps.

• Adaptation to local climate in multi-trait space: evidence from silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) populations across a heterogeneous environment
  Csillery, Katalin; Ovaskainen, Otso; Sperisen, Christoph; Buchmann, Nina; Widmer, Alex; Gugerli, F
  Heredity,  DOI: 10.1038/s41437-019-0240-0
• Insights into the genetic architecture of sexual dimorphism from an interspecific cross between two diverging Silene (Caryophyllaceae) species
  Baena-Diaz, Fernanda; Zemp, Niklaus; Widmer, Alex
  Molecular Ecology,  DOI: 10.1111/mec.15271
• Conservation genetics: Linking science with practice
  Holderegger, R; Balkenhol, N; Bolliger, J; Engler, JO; Gugerli, F; Hochkirch, A; Nowak, C; Segelbacher, G; Widmer, A; Zachos, FE
  MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 10.1111/mec.15202 
• Variation in growth and defence traits among plant populations at different elevations: Implications for adaptation to climate change
  Buckley, J; Widmer, A; Mescher, MC; De Moraes, CM
  JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, 107 (5):2478-2492; 10.1111/1365-2745.13171 SEP 2019
• Low genetic variation is associated with low mutation rate in the giant duckweed (vol 10, 1243, 2019)
  Xu, SQ; Stapley, J; Gablenz, S; Boyer, J; Appenroth, KJ; Sree, KS; Gershenzon, J; Widmer, A; Huber, M
  NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 10 10.1038/s41467-019-09796-5 APR 16 2019 
• Low genetic variation is associated with low mutation rate in the giant duckweed
  Xu, SQ; Stapley, J; Gablenz, S; Boyer, J; Appenroth, KJ; Sree, KS; Gershenzon, J; Widmer, A; Huber, M
  NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 10 10.1038/s41467-019-09235-5 MAR 20 2019
• Population genomic evidence for plant glacial survival in Scandinavia
  Westergaard, KB; Zemp, N; Bruederle, LP; Stenoien, HK; Widmer, A; Fior, S
  MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 28 (4):818-832; 10.1111/mec.14994 FEB 2019
• Ecological divergence plays an important role in strong but complex reproductive isolation in campions (Silene)
  Karrenberg, S; Liu, Xd; Hallander, E; Favre, A; Herforth-Rahme, J; Widmer, A
  EVOLUTION, 73 (2):245-261; 10.1111/evo.13652 FEB 2019
• Divergence in Glucosinolate Profiles between High- and Low-Elevation Populations of Arabidopsis halleri Correspond to Variation in Field Herbivory and Herbivore Behavioral Preferences
  Buckley, James; Pashalidou, Foteini G.; Fischer, Martin C.; Widmer, Alex; Mescher, Mark C.; De Moraes, Consuelo M.
  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, 20 (1):10.3390/ijms20010174 JAN 1 2019
• The genomic basis of adaptation to calcareous and siliceous soils in Arabidopsis lyrata
  Guggisberg, A; Liu, XY; Suter, L; Mansion, G; Fischer, MC; Fior, S; Roumet, M; Kretzschmar, R; Koch, MA; Widmer, A
  MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 27 (24):5088-5103; 10.1111/mec.14930 DEC 2018
• Transmembrane transport and stress response genes play an important role in adaptation of Arabidopsis halleri to metalliferous soils
  Sailer, C; Babst-Kostecka, A; Fischer, MC; Zoller, S; Widmer, A; Vollenweider, P; Gugerli, F; Rellstab, C
  SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 8, Article Number: 16085, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33938-2 OCT 31 2018
• Genomic imprinting mediates dosage compensation in a young plant XY system
  Muyle, A; Zemp, N; Fruchard, C; Cegan, R; Vrana, J; Deschamps, C; Tavares, R; Hobza, R; Picard, F; Widmer, A; Marais, GAB
  NATURE PLANTS, 4 (9):677-680; 10.1038/s41477-018-0221-y SEP 2018
• Has adaptation occurred in males and females since separate sexes evolved in the plant Silene latifolia
  Zemp, N ; Widmer, A; Charlesworth, D
  PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 285(1883), article Number: 20172824, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2824 JUL 25 2018
• Trait differentiation and adaptation of plants along elevation gradients
  Halbritter, AH; Fior, S; Keller, I; Billeter, R; Edwards, PJ; Holderegger, R; Karrenberg, S; Pluess, AR; Widmer, A; Alexander, JM
  JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, 31 (6):784-800; https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13262 JUN 2018

• Plant adaptation
• Reproductive isolation
• Genetic diversity
• Sex chromosome evolution

• Functional genomics
• Ultra-high throughput sequencing
• Reciprocal transplant experiments