Biology Department Seminar Series: Dr. Kai Battenberg

Seminar Details

Speaker: Dr. Kai Battenberg, University of Idaho, Stillinger Herbarium

Host: Jim Smith

Title: On the origin of root nodule symbiosis –Overview of “when” and “how” it happened

Abstract: Root nodule symbiosis (RNS) is restricted to a clade comprised 4 angiosperm orders but scattered across 10 distantly related families within. This restricted yet scattered distribution pattern of RNS has made the timing of gain/loss of RNS elusive. While model-based studies have support multiple evolutionary origins of RNS, genome-based studies have supported a single origin of RNS. The key discoveries that the field has made collectively on the underlying genomic changes will be discussed.