Research Evolutionary and ecological genomics of plant adaptations We study the evolutionary forces that act in plant developmental networks at the species level, and in mapping and isolating genes that underlie natural variation in that are responsible for plant adaptation. We are also interested in exploring the “ecological transciptome” – the dynamic gene networks found in plants in ecological environments. This work combines concepts and techniques in evolutionary and quantitative genomics, developmental biology, evolutionary ecology, and computational biology.
Genetics of Plant Domestication Crops are plant species that have evolved in a cultural context to provide food and other products for human society. Crop species are fascinating subjects for evolutionary study, since they are examples of species that have undergone rapid diversification under intense selection pressures. They also permit us to understand the dynamic interface between genetics, evolution and human culture. We are studying the evolution of genes in rice (Oryza sativa). By using tools of molecular and evolutionary genomics, these studies provide insights into the processes and mechanisms that accompany cultural selection on plant species during domestication events. The Evolution of Multicellularity and Social Behaviour The model protist Dictyostelium discoideum has been a model for the study of social biology as well as the evolution of multicellularity. We are integrating techniques and approaches in population genetics, genomics, systems biology and glycomics to study kin discrimination and recognition in this social microbe. Funding: Work in my laboratory is funded by grants from the NSF Plant Genome Research program and the Population and Evolutionary Processes program. Collaborators: Carlos Bustamante (Stanford), Barbara Schaal (Washington University), Scott Jackson (University of Georgia), Richard Bonneau (NYU), Kourosh-Salehi Ashtiani (NYU Abu Dhabi), Endang Septiningsih (International Rice Research Institute) Biosketch Dr. Michael Purugganan received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines (1985), an M.A. from Columbia University (1986) and a Ph.D. in Botany with a Global Policy minor at the University of Georgia (1993). After obtaining his Ph.D., he did postdoctoral research as an Alfred P. Sloan Molecular Evolution Fellow at the University of California in San Diego, studying the evolution of development (1993-1995). Dr. Purugganan is a leader in the field of evolutionary and ecological genomics and his work focuses on identifying the molecular basis for evolutionary adaptations that occur in nature. Prior to joining the NYU faculty in 2006, he was the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Genetics at North Carolina State University, where he also won the Outstanding Faculty Research Award and the Sigma Xi Research Prize. He is the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Young Investigator Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, is a Kavli Fellow, and in 2005 was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Purugganan is on the editorial boards of the journals Genome Biology and Evolution, Molecular Ecology, Trends in Plant Science and the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.
Areas of Research/Interest Plant Evolutionary Genomics External Affiliations American Association for the Advancement of Science; Genetics Society of America and Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Fellowships/Honors Guggenheim Fellow (2006 - 2007); Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (Elected 2005); Sloan Young Investigator (1997-2002) Publications
Email update requests to fas.bio.computing@nyu.edu . |
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