Dr. Polina Novikova

Polyploid organisms have more than two sets of chromosomes as a result of a whole-genome duplication or a whole-genome hybridization. Polyploidy is often associated with extreme environments, where it can be triggered by external stress and in case of a successful establishment, can provide an adaptive advantage in harsh conditions. At the same time, the establishment of polyploid populations includes cellular adaptation to another extreme condition — polyploidy itself. We study the interplay between adaptation and polyploidy to understand molecular mechanisms of adaptation to doubled genomes, genomic and organismal consequences of polyploidization, and its ecological importance.

1. Kolesnikova UK, Scott AD, Van de Velde JD, Burns R, Tikhomirov NP, Pfordt U, Clarke AC, Yant L, Seregin AP, Vekemans X, Laurent S, Novikova PY (2023) Transition to Self-compatibility Associated With Dominant S-allele in a Diploid Siberian Progenitor of Allotetraploid Arabidopsis kamchatica Revealed by Arabidopsis lyrata Genomes. Mol Biol Evol 40(7). doi: 10.1093/molbev/msad122.
2. Wlodzimierz P, Rabanal FA, Burns R, Naish M, Primetis E, Scott A, Mandakova T, Gorringe N, Tock AJ, Holland D, Fritschi K, Habring A, Lanz C, Patel C, Schlegel T, Collenberg M, Mielke M, Nordborg M, Roux F, Shirsekar G, Alonso-Blanco C, Lysak MA, Novikova PY, Bousios A, Weigel D, Henderson IR (2023) Cycles of satellite and transposon evolution in Arabidopsis centromeres. Nature 618(7965):557-565. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06062-z.
3. Novikova PY, Kolesnikova UK, Scott AD (2023) Ancestral self-compatibility facilitates the establishment of allopolyploids in Brassicaceae. Plant Reprod 36(1):125-138. doi: 10.1007/s00497-022-00451-6.
4. Burns R, Mandakova T, Gunis J, Soto-Jimenez LM, Liu C, Lysak MA, Novikova PY, Nordborg M (2021) Gradual evolution of allopolyploidy in Arabidopsis suecica. Nat Ecol Evol 5(10):1367-1381. doi: 10.1038/s41559-021-01525-w.
5. Novikova PY, Hohmann N, Nizhynska V, Tsuchimatsu T, Ali J, Muir G, Guggisberg A, Paape T, Schmid K, Fedorenko OM, Holm S, Sall T, Schlotterer C, Marhold K, Widmer A, Sese J, Shimizu KK, Weigel D, Kramer U, Koch MA, Nordborg M (2016) Sequencing of the genus Arabidopsis identifies a complex history of nonbifurcating speciation and abundant trans-specific polymorphism. Nat Genet 48(9):1077-1082. doi: 10.1038/ng.3617.