Environmental Genomics
Origins of biodiversity
Genomics to conserve biodiversity
Differentiation between species is key to the origin of biodiversity.
Some
plant species, such as many of the ragworts, are able to hybridise, that
is they are able to cross breed between species. Hybrids are a potential
source of new species, and hybridisation is one of the most important mechanisms
of abrupt speciation (evolutionary formation of new species) in wild plants.
It is very important that we understand hybridisation so that we can effectively manage wildlife populations, establish species in new habitats and conserve biodiversity.
Genomic investigations are providing additional insights into evolutionary processes that generate and renew biodiversity. Using microarray technology, scientists investigated gene expression in:
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the hybrid Oxford ragwort (Senecio squalidus); its parental species from Sicily (S. aethnensis and S. chrysanthemifolius);
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and the hybrid Welsh ragwort (S. cambrensis), a recent new species formed in the UK by hybridisation between Oxford ragwort and groundsel (S. vulgaris).
Bringing two similar but divergent genomes together in a hybrid plant triggers genomic responses that might not be shown in either parent species. The analysis revealed that both types of hybrid species showed large-scale changes in pattern of gene expression from their parental plants.