ID: 613 / 157

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: POLYPLOIDY AND HOMOPLOID HYBRIDIZATION AS EVOLUTIONARY DRIVERS IN MEDITERRANEAN PLANTS

Abstract: Polyploidy and homoploid hybridization are important drivers of speciation and diversification in plants. The Mediterranean region is a biodiversity hotspot that harbours 4.3% of the endemic plants of the world. The Mediterranean flora has been shaped by geological and climatic events such as the Pleistocene glaciations, which probably promoted polyploidization and hybridization processes. Polyploidy in plants from the Mediterranean region has been estimated in a frequency of 36.5% to 48.8%, and the percentage of hybrids in ~6%. However, we are still far from understanding the impact of these processes on reproductive barriers and speciation, their relative frequency in many plant groups, the consequences for adaptation and fitness or the ecological factors involved among other relevant questions. On the other hand, genomic approaches are a powerful tool that are boosting methodological challenges associated with polyploid and hybrid genomes. These questions need to be addressed to understand the role of polyploidy and homoploid hybridization in a worldwide important floristic region as the Mediterranean.

Speaker 1: Judita Zozomová-Lihová Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia judita.zozomova@savba.sk Evolution of polyploid species complexes in the Mediterranean: phylogenomic studies in Cardamine and Alyssum (Brassicaceae)

Speaker 2: Silvia Castro University of Coimbra, Portugal scastro@bot.uc.pt Sympatric speciation through polyploidy: Understanding the ecological processes in initial stages after polyploid formation

Speaker 3: Christoph Oberprieler University of Regensburg, Germany Christoph.Oberprieler@biologie.uni-regensburg.de Untangling the weave - reconstructing the reticulate evolutionary history of the Leucanthemum Mill. (Compositae, Anthemideae) polyploid complex

Topics (Up to three): Hybrids and Hybridization

Topic 2: Systematics

Topic 3: Biogeography / Phylogeography

Justification: The proposed symposium aims to provide a forum to discuss research about polyploidy and homoploid hybridization in the Mediterranean area. It will offer a unique opportunity to bring together researchers with recognized experience in the topic, able to discuss from different backgrounds and perspectives. Given that these processes are main drivers for speciation and diversification of the Mediterranean flora, this subject is of crucial interest for botanists as well as for evolutionary biologists and ecologists interested in plant evolution. We are therefore convinced that it will attract many participants that will promote an enriching exchange of ideas on the topic.