Mimmi Eriksson, MSc PhD

I first started to study biology due to an interest in conservation biology, therefore, this was the focus of my studies towards my bachelor’s degree. All throughout my studies I found population genetics and population dynamics to be fascinating and when I began my master’s degree I choose to focus on population genomics and evolution. I have undertaken both my bachelor's and master's degree at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where I graduated in June 2017. For my master thesis I collaborated with Uppsala University, Sweden, and had Prof. Martin Lascoux, as my supervisor. I used the allotetraploid weed Capsella bursa-pastoris to investigate the accumulation of deleterious alleles across the species range. The aims were to test whether the two ancestral genomes differed in this respect and if the accumulation could be explained by a recent range expansion.  

During my PhD at the University of Vienna I will study the role of transposable elements (TE) in local adaptation after whole genome duplication (WGD). The orchid genus Dactylorhiza will be used as a study system due to the possibility to investigate arrays of sibling, but ecologically-divergent allopolyploids. First, the difference in relative abundance of classes and subclasses of TEs will be evaluated using low-coverage whole genome sequencing across allopolyploids of different ages, together with representatives of their diploid parents. This is expected to provide information on the TEs dynamics through time after allopolyploidization. Further work will test the relevance of these dynamics for the ecological divergence of the polyploids, focusing on the regulatory influence of TEs on neighbouring genomic regions.

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