Dr Luke Dunning
School of Biosciences
Senior Research Fellow


- Profile
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- NERC Independent Research Fellow, University of 91直播, UK (2020鈥抪resent)
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of 91直播, UK (2015鈥2020)
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Imperial College London, UK (2013鈥2014)
- PhD, University of Auckland, NZ (2014)
- MRes in Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK (2008)
- BSc in Ecology and Environmental Management, Cardiff University, UK (2007)
- Research interests
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I am an evolutionary biologist interested in understanding how organisms adapt to novel environments by combining cutting-edge genomic techniques, ecological analyses and experimental approaches. Most of my research focuses on rapid adaptation in the grass family, the most economically and ecologically important group of plants.
- The evolutionary consequences of lateral gene transfer in grasses.
Our previous work has shown that lateral gene transfer (LGT) is prevalent in grasses where it is responsible for spreading functional genes of adaptive significance between species. We are building on this work to understand the ecological drivers, evolutionary implications and the mechanisms behind these transfers. - Pan-genome variation and local adaptation in grasses.
Not all individuals within an species have the same set of genes, and this gene content variation is likely to have important consequences for environmental adaptation. We are currently investigating the evolutionary forces resulting in this mosaic pattern of gene presence, and trying to understand how this variation is distributed at different biological levels. - Adapting to life on the beach
Dune grasses have convergently evolved to tolerate an ecologically stressful cocktail of drought, salinity, high winds and burial under moving sand. They are also key ecosystem engineers that stabilise and maintain the sand dunes, the most at-risk habitat in Europe. We use genomic techniques and experimental approaches to understand how coastal beach grasses survive in an environment where the sands are literally shifting around them, and how these adaptive traits have evolved over time. In collaboration with coastal ecologists and coastal engineers, we also aim to determine how genetic variation with a plant can translate to whole landscape changes
- The evolutionary consequences of lateral gene transfer in grasses.
- Publications
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Featured publications
Journal articles
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Chapters
Preprints
- Research group
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Postdoctoral Research Associates:
- Dr Lara Pereira
- Dr Emma Curran
- Dr William Brightly (NSF fellow - Co-supervised)
Technicians:- Dr Emily Bailes
PhD Students:- Catherine Collins
- George Hirons-Alecrim
- Noah Bourne
- Emily Baker
- Ghadah Fhaid (Co-supervised)
- Violette Pepper (Co-supervised)
- Rafaela Stagiopoulou (Co-supervised)
Masters Students:
- Harvey Jeffrey (MBiolSci)
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