Meet the Genomes
Meet the Genomes
Meet the Genomes
... and the organisms they encode!
WGDip researchers are working on organisms across the eukaryotic tree of life.
Our team aims to make novel advances in understanding the evolutionary role of whole genome duplication events by studying the crucial process of rediploidisation.
On this page, we introduce several of the diverse groups of organisms we are studying – including their sometimes weird and wonderful genomes.
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Lamiales
Pictured: Purple toothwort Lathraea clandestina
The order Lamiales, commonly known as the “mint order”, includes several well-known and economically important plants. These range from kitchen staples - like basil, mint, rosemary, and sage - to ornamental and crop species like snapdragons, sesame, and lilacs.
Lamiales include the pictured Purple toothwort (Lathraea clandestina), a parasitic plant that grows on the roots of other species. Lamiales are thought to have a history of whole genome duplication events that may have played a role in their evolutionary diversity (Wang et al., 2024).
Research on Lamiales genome evolution is being led by team members Emily Haley, Annabelle Knutson and Alex Twyford at the University of Edinburgh.
Teleosts
Pictured: Sockeye salmon Lathraea clandestina
Teleosts make up about half of all vertebrates. This diverse group is found in habitats spanning the globe, from the deepest oceans to high-altitude lakes, in freezing temperatures to hot springs.
All teleosts have undergone three whole genome duplication events, two shared with other jawed vertebrates, and one in their common ancestor. Several teleost lineages have experienced additional rounds of whole genome duplication, including the salmonids and snow carps. Several teleost whole genome duplications were followed by asynchronous rediploidisation (Robertson et al., 2017) (Parey et al., 2022) (Xie et al., 2026), providing key study systems for the WGDip project.
Teleosts are being studied by Drew Larson, Morgane Milin, Brianna Banting and Dan Macqueen at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Manu Gundappa at Wageningen University, Sigbjørn Lien at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Yuan Tian at Ocean University China, and WGDip colleagues at the Universities of Bristol and Bath.
Acipenseriformes
Pictured: American paddlefish Polyodon spathula
Acipenseriformes is an order of ray-finned fishes that includes all living sturgeons and paddlefish, often referred to as “living fossils” as these fish have persisted for several 100 million years with little phenotype change compared to their ancestors. Paddlefish and sturgeon share a whole genome duplication event that occurred over 200 million years ago and was followed by delayed rediploidisation (Redmond et al., 2023).
The pictured American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) is distinctive for its long snout covered in electroreceptors and is used to detect prey in the water. Paddlefish are filter feeders that swim with their mouths open, capturing plankton and other small organisms drifting in the current. Today, only one species of paddlefish survives, the American paddlefish, while the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) was declared extinct in recent decades.
Acipenseriformes are being studied by Dearbhaile Casey and Peter Holland at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Anthony Redmond at University College Dublin, Aoife McLysaght at Trinity College Dublin, and Lucas Freitas and Phil Donoghue at the University of Bristol.
Microsporidia
Pictured: Nosema bombycis
Microsporidia are tiny, highly specialised intracellular parasites that infect a wide range of organisms, including humans, insects, and aquatic animals. Despite their small size, they have significant environmental and economic impacts, particularly in agriculture and aquaculture, while also showing potential as biological control agents.
Encephalitozoon intestinalis possesses the smallest known eukaryotic genome. These parasites include fascinating diplokaryotic groups, where the genome is present as a tetraploid split between two diploid nuclei within a single cell. How this is achieved genetically (and even if microsporidia do sexual recombination) and the impacts on genome evolution are unknown.
The silkworm Bombyx mori, is a host for the microsporidian pathogen Nosema bombycis. Nosema bombycis was the first described microsporidian and cause of the devastating silkworm disease pébrine in the 19th century, which had catastrophic effects on the European silk industry in the mid-19th century.
Research led by Mark Blaxter, Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Ericales
Pictured: Tea Plant Camellia sinensis
The Ericales include many familiar and economically important plant species including blueberries, cranberries, kiwifruit, Brazil nut, and heather.
One notable Ericales species is the pictured tea plant (Camellia sinensis), which is used to produce around 30 million tonnes per year, and is consumed widely around the world.
Whole genome duplication likely played an important role in the evolution of Ericales - potentially even contributing to the unique flavour of tea! (Wang et al., 2021).
Research on Ericales is being led by Brianna Banting, in collaboration with Drew Larson, Alex Twyford and Dan Macqueen at the University of Edinburgh.
Non-seed plants
Pictured: Flying Spider-monkey tree fern Alsophila spinulosa
The bryophytes, lycophytes, and ferns are plants that reproduce without flowers or seeds. These ancient lineages provide key insights into how complex plant life developed over hundreds of millions of years.
The picture shows Alsophila spinulosa, the flying spider-monkey tree fern. Recent research revealed that this fern experienced whole genome duplication (Huang et al., 2022). The resulting duplicated genes are particularly well preserved, which is often not the case in the more studied flowering plant lineage.
Research into genome evolution in non-seed plants is being worked on in collaboration by Brianna Banting at the University of Edinburgh, Kevin Bird at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and James Clark at the University of Bath.
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Stylommatophora
Pictured: Candy Cane Snail Liguus virgineus
The Stylommatophora are a diverse clade of air-breathing snails and slugs - some of which we are used to seeing in our own gardens (especially when it rains!)
The image shows the Candy Cane Snail (Liguus virgineus), a striking example of the beauty and diversity found within this group. Their shells are unique, just like a human fingerprint.
Stylommatophora is one of several animal groups that successfully transitioned from aquatic habitats to terrestrial environments - something we often think about for vertebrates, but that actually occurred independently many times in invertebrate evolution. Ancestral whole genome duplication in Stylommatophora may have supported their initial adaptation to land and subsequent terrestrial radiation (Chen et al., 2022).
Research on this group of gastropods is being led by Peter Holland and team at the University of Oxford, with an initial study led by Finn McHale. (McHale, Mulhair and Holland, 2025).
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Fungi
Pictured: Bakers/Brewers Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Fungi are a kingdom of eukaryotic organisms, including mushrooms, moulds, and yeasts that are more closely related genetically to animals than to plants.
The pictured Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as brewer’s or baker’s yeast, is one of the best-studied organisms in biology. Beyond its importance for making bread or beer, S. cerevisiae is widely used as a model for studying genetics, cell biology, and metabolism.
Also the first eukaryote to have its genome sequenced - a milestone that led researchers to identify an ancient whole genome duplication in the ancestor to modern yeasts. This event is likely played a major role in the evolution of efficient fermentative metabolism, helping yeast thrive in sugar-rich environments. (Gordon, Byrne and Wolfe, 2009).
Research into whole genome duplication in yeast and other fungi is being led by Zoe Vance, Tom Williams and James Clark at the University of Bath.
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Maleae - The Apple Tribe
Pictured: Domestic Apple Malus domestica
The “apple tribe” is part of the rose family of plants and includes commercially important fruit producers, including all apples (image shown for the domestic apple) and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Today, there are more than 7,500 known apple cultivars worldwide, some of which were sequenced by the Tree of Life Sanger team:
An ancestor to this group experienced whole genome duplication, which may have promoted the evolution of traits linked to fruit development and ripening, including the distinctive pome fruit structure seen in apples and pears (Zhang et al., 2023).
Research on genome evolution after whole genome duplication in the apple tribe is being led by Kevin Bird in collaboration with Ilia Leitch at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Diatoms
Pictured: Sun plankton Planktoniella sol
Diatoms are tiny single-celled, photosynthetic algae found across aquatic environments that play an important role in our planet's health. Diatoms contribute an estimated 20% of the world’s oxygen, support marine food webs, and are indicators of ecosystem health.
Encased in intricate, glass-like silica shells, each species is uniquely beautiful.
The pictured species Planktoniella sol is a visually striking diatom, often called the "sun plankton" due to its distinct, sun-like appearance. They are found in sub-tropical oceans.
Research on the potential for whole genome duplication events in diatom evolution (Parks et al., 2018) is being led by Brianna Banting with Dan Macqueen and Alex Twyford at the University of Edinburgh.
Arachnopulmonata
Pictured: European yellow-tailed scorpion Tetratrichobothrius flavicaudis
The Arachnopulmonata are a highly diverse clade within the chelicerates that includes all spiders, and scorpions, alongside less familiar lineages such as whip scorpions and whip spiders! The European yellow-tailed scorpion is pictured above. While non-native, this is the only species that you will come across in the UK and Ireland and you find it nestled between crevices in the walls of the Sheerness Dockyard in Kent.
The ancestor to Arachnopulmonata was proposed to have experienced a whole genome duplication which may have contributed to the diversification and adaptation of this lineage to terrestrial environments (Aase-Remedios et al., 2025), and even to the ability of spiders to produce silk (Li et al. 2026).
Research into genome evolution and whole genome duplication in Arachnopulmonata is being led by Dearbhaile Casey with Peter Holland at University of Oxford and Anthony Redmond at the University of Dublin.
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