The double-edged sword of whole-genome duplication: applying evolutionary insights to crop optimization
Whole-genome duplication (WGD) is a double-edged sword of evolution: it fuels bursts of innovation but can also confound the faithful segregation of chromosomes during meiosis.
Date: 27 November 2025
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Organiser: SLU Breeding Network
Venue: For those located on site in Ultuna there will be a fika extension
Location: Online, Uppsala
My lab investigates how wild plants have balanced these opposing forces, revealing that some have evolved natural genetic solutions to stabilize fertility after within-species WGD (autopolyploidy). In wild Arabidopsis arenosa, Cochlearia, and related species, we have identified adaptive changes that rewire meiotic control, restoring stability and enabling long-term WGD-mediated success.
Building on these discoveries, we are extending this knowledge toward crops, to explore how the same principles that stabilize fertility in wild plants might unlock breeding potential in autopolyploid species such as potato. By combining cytology, pangenomics, and functional genetics, our work aims to predict and enhance recombination stability. This could open the door to true-seed breeding, faster trait stacking, and more sustainable production.
This research bridges evolutionary genomics and plant breeding, showing how understanding the double-edged nature of WGD transform a long-standing biological constraint into a tool for crop innovation.
Speaker: Levi Yant