Gene duplication is the main source of new gene functions in all organisms. The high proportion of gene families detected in completely sequenced genomes emphasizes the extent and importance of this phenomenon. For instance, in Arabidopsis thaliana (mustard weed) and the nematode C. elegans groups of highly similar genes represent 37% and 25% of the genome, respectively.

I am interested in understanding how new protein functions evolve after gene duplication and what are the morphological consequences of this process. Currently I am a postdoctoral researcher at the laboratory of Günter Theißen at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena, Germany. My research aims to characterize functional diversification of duplicated MADS-box genes from orchids. In particular I am interested in testing the relationship between gene duplication and morphological diversification of the flower structure. A focus of my work is on class B genes specifying stamens and petaloid organs in relation to evolutionary trends affecting these organs.

In my doctoral research with Brandon Gaut at UC Irvine, USA, I studied the molecular evolution of three large gene families that participate in disease resistance in A. thaliana. During the molecular arms race between plants and pathogens natural selection leaves its “signature” on the genes that mediate plant-pathogen interactions. I employed this “evolutionary signature” of coevolution to infer which members of the recently sequenced genome from A. thaliana are potentially involved in disease resistance. As part of my research I also studied gene conversion, another molecular process that affects the evolution of gene families and the generation of new pathogen recognition specificities in disease resistance genes.