Replicated hybrid zones reveal genomic patterns of local adaptation and introgression in spruce Abstract. Hybridization between species can occur along repeated zones of contact, providing a natural laboratory for studying the interplay between migrat

Happy to share this paper with @samyeaman.bsky.social, now published in Molecular Biology and Evolution!

Using replicated hybrid zones, we explored patterns of local adaptation and introgression in spruce and found strong signals even at very fine geographical scales!

doi.org/10.1093/molb...

Was seed color in early crops really chosen for aesthetics?
White seeds evolved repeatedly-not because humans preferred them, but because losing pigmentation reduced seed dormancy. Ecology, not intention, may have driven domestication. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#PlantScience #Domestication

🌾 We have an open postdoc position in Plant Genomics in our group at HHU Düsseldorf!

If you enjoy computational biology, asking big questions, and the satisfaction of code working on the first try, check out schneebergerlab.org/career/

Apply by Mar. 31 | 3-year postdoc | German skills required

PhD position at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, focusing on drought adaptation in Brassica rapa. Applications due by 02.03.2026. Details: https://www.plantecoevo.hhu.de #phd

Nele celebrating the paper https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-08006-3

We published our open-access review on anthocyanins in BMC Plant Biology! 🌿🔬
From antioxidants to ecological roles in nature, these pigments are way more than pretty colors.

Check it out👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1186/s128...

📸 Here is Nele celebrating this achievement!
#PlantScience #Anthocyanins #OpenAccess

The grain amaranth pangenome reveals domestication-associated changes in diversity and function of structural variation Background: Grain amaranth is a nutritious pseudocereal from the Americas that was independently domesticated three times from a common wild ancestor. The three domesticated grain amaranths, their wil...

New preprint from the lab! Ella Ludwig assembled the first pangenome for grain amaranth and Tom mapped the genetic control of flowering time. Together it looks a lot like an insertion changing flowering time. If you are at #PAG don't miss Ella's talk on this! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Blinded by the lights? Re-examining the adaptive role of transposable elements in plants with population genomics Transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitous components of the genome whose mobility can be triggered by environmental stress and influenced by genotype…

Have we been overstating the role of transposable elements in adaptation to local or rapidly changing environmental conditions? Happy to share my (somewhat unpopular?) opinion paper on this matter: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Thanks to those who already shared the link!

The Clavel Group is recruiting a new postdoc for two possible projects dealing with plant-virus interactions and selective autophagy! More (wordy) details below ⬇️🌱🦠

A. thaliana has been pivotal in advancing our understanding of the bases of adaptation to past and ongoing environmental changes! A very nice review by @ahancock.bsky.social, Swan Portlier, Andrea Fulgione, @mgstetter.bsky.social and @meauxjuliette.bsky.social

www.annualreviews.org/docserver/fu...

#PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob

PostDoc position: Plant genomics and quantitative genetics.

In @mgstetter.bsky.social’s lab @unicologne.bsky.social + @ceplas.bsky.social-member

Start: a.s.a.p.
Deadline: 14 December 2025

www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/stellenangeb...

TWO positions open in our group. 1 postdoc and 1 PhD position. Join us for some exciting evolutionary plant biology! #PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob

Domestication shaped the chromatin landscape of grain amaranth - Nature Communications The interplay between the chromatin landscape and plant domestication remains unclear. Here, the authors report the genome assembly and chromatin landscape map of amaranth and reveal the association b...

Now out in its final version: 'Domestication shaped the chromatin landscape of grain amaranth'
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Two 4-year PhD positions available for Oct 2026 🪴 We're part of CNAP with 12 plant/microbe research groups combining excellent fundamental science with innovation.

1st - MAGIC Crops: Genomics to breed high yielding, resilient and nutritious amaranth for smallholder farmers
tinyurl.tools/fa83da49

🌱 Postdoc position in Plant Genomics/Bioinformatics!

Love genome plasticity, computational methods, and solving big questions in plant biology? Join our newly established Institute for Crop Biology at HHU Düsseldorf.

More info on schneebergerlab.org/career/
Apply by Nov. 30 | 3-year position

Sad to miss #ESEB2025, but check out work from our lab. The poster of Tom Winkler (P01.272) on repeated evolution under ecological selection during domestication tonight. And the talk of Margarita Takou on the detection of polygenic selection from time series data on Tuesday 15:30.

If you’re at #SMBE2025 and want to know how polygenic adaptation to different environmental change scenarios proceeds, go see PhD student Yuna Zhang from my lab presenting today 17:10-17:15 in Symposium 22 #quantgen

Assessing and mining grain amaranth diversity for sustainable cropping systems - Theoretical and Applied Genetics Global challenges and new demands require adaptation of cropping systems. Plant genetic diversity can contribute to adapt and improve crops and create more sustainable agricultural systems. In order t...

How can climate distribution models help to harness crop diversity? We look at recent advances in grain amaranth genomics and breeding to suggest how leveraging genetic diversity of underutilized crops could contribute to resilient and sustainable cropping systems.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Now published. Led by Dr. Akanksha Singh, we studied what happened to grain amaranth once it arrived to India. Surprisingly differentiation stayed high and populations adapted individually. No gene flow, high diversity.

Talking Biotech 459 - where did the key domestication mutations in corn come from? Were they present in resident gene pools waiting to be selected, or new mutations? I discuss with @jrossibarra and his student Regina Fairbanks.
@aspb @ASHS_Hort @UF_IFAS share.transistor.fm/s/bed2ffa6

Forza CEPLAS 3!

Domestication had profound impacts on plant traits. But how about the shape of DNA? We find that more chromatin opened than closed during domestication and that selection signals overlap with chromatin changes.

Domestication shaped the chromatin landscape of grain amaranth Plant domestication has had profound impacts on the morphology and genetic diversity of crops. Beyond sequence diversity, changes in chromatin structure can play an important role in plant adaptation....

New preprint from the lab: 'Domestication shaped the chromatin landscape of grain amaranth'. #domestication #chromatin #amaranth www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I use this resource from @pflanzenwissen.bsky.social for teaching. www.pflanzenforschung.de/de/pflanzenw...

Cologne Spring Meeting starts with “Plant Ecological Genetics: From Lab to Nature and Back” talk by @meauxjuliette.bsky.social Exploring the bridge between laboratory insights and real-world plant ecology. #EcologicalGenetics #PlantScience

Local Selection Shaped the Diversity of European Maize Landraces The introduction of populations to novel environments can lead to a loss of genetic diversity and the accumulation of deleterious mutations due to selection and demographic changes. We investigate ho...

Our work on selection and how it shaped the diversity of European maize landraces is now published. Read for diversity changes not following expansion routes but climatic gradients, & genetic load accumulation.
With @mgstetter.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Picture of Cologne at night.

The 2025 maize genetics meeting is over. Looking forward to having the 2026 maize meeting from Feb 26 to March 1 in Cologne (Köln), Germany 🇩🇪. Please already mark your calendars. #MGM2025 > #MGM2026.

Today we celebrate a wide diversity in plant sciences at the Symposium of our institute at @unicologne.bsky.social with support from @ceplas.bsky.social & @trr341.bsky.social #PlantScience

Was an interesting experience to discuss such an interdisciplinary topic.

I’m very happy to share that I will start as associate professor for plant ecological genomics at the University of Cologne in January 2024. Huge thanks to my great team, mentors, collaborators and everyone who helped to make this happen!