Transposable elements drive rapid phenotypic variation in .

Rapid phenotypic changes in traits of adaptive significance are crucial for organisms to thrive in changing environments. How such phenotypic variation is achieved rapidly, despite limited genetic variation in species that experience a genetic bottleneck is unknown. , an annual and inbreeding forb (Brassicaceae), is a great system for studying this basic question.

Adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana to the Yangtze River basin.

Background: Organisms need to adapt to keep pace with a changing environment. Examining recent range expansion aids our understanding of how organisms evolve to overcome environmental constraints. However, how organisms adapt to climate changes is a crucial biological question that is still largely unanswered.

Long-term balancing selection contributes to adaptation in Arabidopsis and its relatives.

Background: In contrast to positive selection, which reduces genetic variation by fixing beneficial alleles, balancing selection maintains genetic variation within a population or species and plays crucial roles in adaptation in diverse organisms. However, which genes, genome-wide, are under balancing selection and the extent to which these genes are involved in adaptation are largely unknown.

Results: We performed a genome-wide scan for genes under balancing selection across two plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana and its relative Capsella rubella, which diverged about 8 million generations ago.

On the Origin of De Novo Genes in Arabidopsis thaliana Populations.

De novo genes, which originate from ancestral nongenic sequences, are one of the most important sources of protein-coding genes. This origination process is crucial for the adaptation of organisms. However, how de novo genes arise and become fixed in a population or species remains largely unknown.

Frequent introgressions from diploid species contribute to the adaptation of the tetraploid Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris).

Adaptation is the most important ability for organisms to survive in diverse habitats. Animals have the option to escape from stressful environments, but plants do not. In plants, polyploids consist of about 30%-70% angiosperms and 95% ferns, of which some are important crops such as cotton and wheat.