Understanding the genetic basis of morphological evolution is a fundamental challenge for evolutionary biologists. Research in my laboratory addresses these and related questions using maize and its wild relatives as a model system. Other projects in the laboratory exam the genetic basis of morphological differences between natural species of teosinte. A second area of interest in my lab is on the evolution of the maize genome.
Plant genomes are the end products of long and complex evolutionary histories.
My laboratory is interested in understanding forces such as selection, recombination and polyploidy that that have shaped the maize genome. Doebley, J., and A. Stec, 1991. Genetic analysis of the morphological differences between maize and teosinte. Doebley, J., 1992. Mapping the genes that made maize.