In plants, the transition from cross-pollination to self-fertilization has occurred repeatedly. The emancipation from pollinators for reproduction releases selective pressure on flower attractiveness. Simultaneously, the reproduction insurance allows selfing plant species to colonize new spaces. Consequently, both reproductive and vegetative traits evolve convergently across selfing species. Petals, stamens, nectaries and scents are reduced, and vegetative traits gain colonization ability. In our lab, we study the phenotypic evolution of traits associated with the transition to selfing and their underlying genetics in Brassicaceae species. We study the genetic bases of flower size variation in Arabidopsis thaliana, the genetic bases of nectar reduction in three Capsella species (the outcrosser C. grandiflora, and the selfers C. rubella and C. orientalis), and the genetic bases of leaf shape variation in C. rubella.
Taking advantage of NAISS systems’ computing and storage, we aim at performing a wide range of analyses, including genome alignment, variant calling, genome-wide association studies, genome-wide scans for selection, differential expression analyses and niche modelling …