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SUMMARY:Apomixis:  an evolutionary conundrum and disruptive agricultural te
 chnology
LOCATION:Biology Auditorium 136
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20183201T000000
UID:2026-04-18-13-03-50@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20260418T130350
Description:An organism’s choice to reproduce with or without sex has lon
 g puzzled evolutionary biologists. Apomixis\, a natural form of reproducti
 on in plants whereby seeds are produced asexually\, has evolved repeatedly
  from sexual ancestors in many taxa.  Apomixis is of interest on a number
  of levels\, ranging from population genetics to evolution\, but also from
  an applied perspective\, as it represents a disruptive technology which c
 ould significantly change agricultural practices (e.g. fixing heterosis in
  hybrid crops).  The switch from sex to apomixis is hypothesized to resul
 t from deregulation of developmental pathways leading to sexual seed devel
 opment\, and the trigger for deregulation involves the global genomic effe
 cts of hybridization and polyploidy.\n\nWe study apomixis in wild plant po
 pulations\, and use evolutionary theory to guide our experimental approach
 es.  High-throughput methods are employed to understand population-level 
 phenotypic (seed production) and genetic (polyploidy\, genetic structure) 
 variability.  These data are then used to design targeted experiments\, w
 hereby candidate genes for apomixis are identified using tissue-specific �
 ��omics” methods in particular genotypes.  These candidates are then us
 ed (1) in transformation experiments to attempt apomixis induction in sexu
 al plants\, and (2) in population-level studies to understand the origin a
 nd evolution of apomixis with respect to sexuality in natural populations.
  4:00 pm
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