Lene Rostgaard Nielsen

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My background is in plant population genetics. I have a strong interest in how plant species, particularly trees with long generation times, interact, adapt and evolve in rapidly changing environments facing increased temperatures, forest fragmentation, and human-based introductions of non-native species. I have targeted many endangered plant species and studied how a fragmented landscape influences genetic diversity and population genetic structure of plant populations. Since 2006 my main focus area has been on genetic aspects of emerging infectious diseases on their host tree species (Fraxinus and Ulmus). The unintended introduction of the fungal ascomycete, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, in the late 1990’ies has given rise to a number of studies that investigate how a forest tree species such as common ash responds to an invasive fungus at both population and individual tree level. I am currently exploring the genetic mechanisms behind ash dieback resistance as well as the genetic effects of the epidemic on the Fraxinus excelsior gene pool. The research further involves studies on the potential role of the microbiome in the resilience of ash trees. In my research, I combine field assessments, greenhouse experiments, and molecular data to address research questions and to evaluate ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. My recent work is based on high-throughput sequence data (whole genome sequencing, RAD-seq, RNA-seq, and metabarcoding analysis).

Keywords: Adaptation, Conservation, Population genetics and genomics, Host-pathogen interactions, Evolutionary processes