Plants show a remarkable ability to survive in diverse environments. Our work seeks to identify the genetic basis of plant adaptation through computational analysis of whole genome sequences isolated from thousands of individuals. I will discuss the unequal retention of genetic variation in the genomes of plant populations, the potential for ancestral variation to facilitate rapid colonization of new habitats, and the pattern of evolutionary change in one of the worlds longest ongoing experiments, the barley Composite Cross II. I will present evidence that natural selection plays a major role shaping genetic diversity in natural and agricultural plant populations, and that wholesale adaptive shifts in the genetic composition of populations can occur over very short periods of evolutionary time. Detailed analysis identifies numerous candidate genes that are potential targets of biotic and abiotic selection pressures.

Prof. Daniel Koenig