Adaptation to the afroalpine environment in Brassicaceae species with contrasting ecological strategies (B03)

• Subject Area: Plant Genetics and Genomics
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 456082119

The alpine sky islands of Eastern Africa offer a unique opportunity to study convergent adaptation across multiple species and mountain ranges. Populations of the stress-tolerant A. alpina and the ruderal A. thaliana co-occur in these mountain ranges. We will investigate the demographic history of these populations, compare their variation for traits exposed to selective pressures that vary with elevation and examine their genetic architecture. This project will shed light on the history of convergent adaptation in two ecologically different species exposed to the same challenging environment.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 341: Plant Ecological Genetics
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Head: Dr. Angela Hancock, Ph.D., since 7/2022