News
New Professor Eric Schranz
My research interests broadly encompass plant evolutionary biology—from investigating the evolutionary relationships among species, to comparative chromosomal evolution and to the genetic basis of novel traits. My primary investigations are directed at the evolution of polyploid plants and comparative genetics and genomics of Arabidopsis relatives.
A major question that I am pursuing is if recent and ancient polyploid events are associated with the evolution of phenotypic novelty and increased rates of diversification in the history of plant lineages. Understanding how such novelty might arise requires an understanding of the evolutionary history (phylogeny) of polyploid plants and their diploid relatives. I have been fascinated by the diversity of plants. I have been fortunate to study in several Universities with a major emphasis on plant biology (Cornell, Wisconsin and Duke) and am very pleased to now be in Wageningen.