PhD research in Plant Mating System Evolution and Speciation – KU Leuven, Deadline 30 January

Adaptive divergence due tohabitat differences is thought to play a major role in formation of newspecies. However the extent to which individual reproductive isolating barriersrelated to habitat differentiation contribute to total isolation is not veryclear. Furthermore, it is often difficult to determine the specificenvironmental variables that drive the evolution of those ecological barriers,and the geographic scale at which habitat-mediated speciation occurs. Here, youwill address these questions through an in-depth analysis of the populationstructure and reproductive isolation between grassland and forest populationsof the distylous Primula veris. Recent research has revealed remarkable differencesin floral morphology (flower size, anther-stigma separation) and other planttraits (leaf size, floral display) between forest and grassland populations.Concomitant to changes in floral morphology forest populations consistentlyflowered one month earlier than grassland populations. Imperfect positioning ofthe sexual organs combined with differences in flowering time can behypothesized to constitute important reproductive barriers that hamper geneflow and lead to reproductive isolation. Moreover, differences in shade anddrought tolerance can be expected to contribute further to reproductiveisolation. To investigate whether specific adaptations to distinct habitats aresufficient to lead to the formation of reproductively isolated species, youwill combine detailed molecular genetic analyses and genomic tools withpollination and translocation experiments.