Evolutionary and ecological genomics of polyploidy in plants: temporal dynamics across scales of biological organization from molecules to ecosystems

Chairperson: Malika Ainouche

Université de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, Bât. 14 A Campus de Beaulieu, Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France

Phone: +33 (0)6 52 19 33 78

Email: mlainouche@univ-rennes.fr

Vice-chairperson: Jonathan Wendel

Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

Phone: +1 515 294 7172

Email: jfw@iastate.edu

One of the most important realizations of the genomics era is that whole genome duplication, resulting from polyploidy, is a central mechanism of biological diversification in plants, leading to adaptation and speciation. We now understand that all modern plant lineages have genomes that derive from one or more ancient as well as more recent cycles of polyploidy, each followed by a diverse spectrum of ecological and evolutionary processes that lead to the generation of new clades and novel adaptations. Accompanying the growth in our understanding of the importance of polyploidy has been a parallel appreciation of its relevance to multiple disciplines and from multiple scales of biological organization. Polyploidy now is an important topic in agronomy, due to the prevalence of whole genome doubling in crops. Similarly, from an ecological perspective, polyploidy is an important topic in invasion biology. 

A key challenge in recent years and into the future has been the need to understand the molecular, genomic, and other ‘omics’ connections that underlie adaptation and novel phenotypes, that is, the genotype-to-phenotype connection. Thus, the last couple of decades have witnessed explosive growth in probing the molecular genetic consequences of whole genome doubling in contemporary species. Additional mysteries have arisen from “looking backward” through evolutionary time (e.g. why and how duplicated genomes return to “diploid” state, degrees and patterns of genome fractionation, short term and long-term adaptive consequences of these processes…). We plan to convene global leaders and key scientists from across various biological perspectives, from the molecular to ecological levels. The Conference will focus on major findings and emerging questions regarding polyploids at time scales ranging from millions of years to contemporary processes, and across the full breadth of biological scale, from the molecular to the community level. Topics will be covered through four sessions: (1) Evolutionary dynamics of polyploid genomes (2) How plants adapt to genome doubling (3) Genetic and epigenetic processes shaping the regulation of duplicated genomes (4) Ecological consequences of polyploidy

Invited speakers

(provisional titles)

BARKER Michael (Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, USA) 
Diploidization, polyploidy, and the evolution of plant diversity

BONNEMA Guusje (Department of Plant Sciences, University of Wageningen, Netherlands) 
Contribution of homoeologous exchange and interploidy introgression to domestication of polyploid Brassica

CASACUBERTA Josep (Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Barcelona, Spain) 
LTR-retrotransposon dynamics during the recent evolution of cotton 

CHOULET Frédéric (INRAE Site de Crouël, Clermont-Ferrand, France) 
Dynamics of transposable elements in hexaploid wheat and wild relatives 

CONOVER Justin (Molecular and Cellular Biology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA) 
Population genomics of deleterious mutations across the autopolyploid-allopolyploid spectrum

D’HONT Angélique (CIRAD, Montpellier, France) 
Genome sequencing reveals a complex history of admixture during sugarcane domestication and cultivar diversification 

GLEMIN Sylvain (CNRS UMR Ecobio, Université de Rennes, France) 
Ploidy levels, mating system and competitive ability: examples from Capsella 

HU Guanjing (Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, China) 
Dynamics of duplicated gene regulatory networks governing cotton development and stress tolerance 

KOLAR Filip (Department of Botany, Faculty of Science Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic) 
Adaptation in natural autopolyploid populations 

KOVARICK Ales (Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic) 
Odd ploidy in Rosa canina: a unique lens on chromosome pairing and plant evolution

LASCOUX Martin (Uppsala University, Sweden) 
The role of hybridization and genome doubling in the evolution of an allotetraploid weed 

LEITCH Andrew (Queen Mary University of London, England) 
Genome downsizing after polyploidy: mechanisms, rates and selection pressures 

LEITCH Ilia (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, England) 
The impact of polyploidy on genome size evolution

MANDAKOVA Terezie (Mazaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic) 
Mesopolyploidy and Post-Polyploid Diploidization in Brassicaceae 

MASON Annaliese (INRES, Pflanzenzüchtung Bonn, Germany) 
Synthetic Brassica hybrids provide insight into meiotic stabilisation in polyploids 

NOVIKOVA Polina (Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Köln, Germany) 
Pattern and process in polyploid establishment

PARISOD Christian (Département de Biologie, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland) 
Whole-genome duplication and ecological radiation

ROUSSEAU-GUEUTIN Mathieu (IGEPP, INRAE, Le Rheu, France) 
Speciation success of polyploid plants closely relates to their formation pathways and the regulation of meiotic recombination 

SALMON Armel (UMR CNRS Ecobio, Université de Rennes, France) 
From classical plant cytogenetics to the post-genomic era: Ploidy levels and genome history revisited in Sporobolus (Poaceae) 

SERRA Heïdi (Institut de Génétique, Reproduction et Développement, CNRS/ INSERM/Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France) 
Meiotic adaptation to allopolyploidy 

SOLTIS Pamela (Florida Museum of Natural History, USA) 
Polyploidy and rapid changes: lessons from recently formed natural polyploids

VAN DE PEER Yves (VIB UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, Belgium) 
The duplication of genomes and its potential for evolutionary adaptation and survival during environmental turmoil 

VEKEMANS Xavier (Université de Lille, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France) 
Plant self-incompatibility systems, mating system evolution, and the success of polyploid lineages 

WINCKER Patrick (Genoscope, Evry, France)
Comparative genomics of polyploid photosynthetic organisms

Deadline for application: May 5, 2025

Registration fee (including board and lodging)

550 € for PhD students 

770 € for other participants 

Application for registration 

The total number of participants is limited to 115 and all participants are expected to attend for the whole duration of the conference. Selection is made on the basis of the affinity of potential participants with the topics of the conference. Scientists and PhD Students interested in the meeting should deposit online before the deadline: link coming soon

• their curriculum vitae
• the proof of their student status
• the list of their main publications for the 3 last years
• the abstract of their presentation:

The abstract must respect the following template:

• First line: title
• Second line: list of authors
• Third line: author's addresses
• Fourth line: e-mail of the presenting author

Abstract should not exceed 600 words. No figures.

After the deadline, the organizers will select the participants. Except in some particular cases approved by the Chairperson, it is recommended that all selected participants present their work during the conference, either in poster form or by a brief in- session talk. The organizers choose the form in which the presentations are made. No payment will be sent with application. Information on how and when to pay will be mailed in due time to those selected.