Welcome to The Doebley Lab
Department of Genetics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Our research group is investigating a variety of questions in the general area of Evolutionary Genetics using maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and its wild relatives (the teosintes) as our model system. We are specifically interested in the following topics.
The genetic basis of the evolution of form. What genetic architecture underlies the evolution of morphological traits? Are there typically few genes of large effect or many genes of individually small effect involved? What are these genes? What classes of proteins do these genes represent: transcriptional regulators, coregulators, kinases, ligands, or basic structural proteins? What types of changes in these genes underlie morphological evolution? Is it more often cis-regulatory changes or changes in protein function?
The domestication of maize. From what wild species was maize domesticated? Where was maize domesticated? What is genetic architecture of the differences in morphology between maize and teosinte? How did maize spread from the cradle of its domestication in southern Mexico to be grown throughout the Americas from Canada to Chile within a few thousand years of its domestication?
The systematics and population genetics of maize and teosinte. What are the phylogenetic relationships among maize and its wild relatives? What evolutionary forces have shaped the structure of and diversity in the maize genome? How is the maize germplasm pool structured? Can we identify genes that were the targets of selection during maize domestication?