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Richard C. Moore

Areas of Expertise

Plant evolutionary biology, evolutionary genetics and genomics, sex chromosome evolution; gene flow between wild and domesticated plants; duplicate gene evolution

For the Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium

As an evolutionary geneticist, I combine the fields of genomics, systematics, developmental genetics, and molecular evolutionary biology to discern the molecular mechanisms underlying the origin and evolution of morphological diversity. I am particularly interested in understanding the evolutionary and functional consequences of changes in plant genomes that have given rise to plant morphological and species diversity. By studying these processes on both genomic and functional levels, I hope to bridge the gap between genomics and the evolution of morphological diversity. 

I have focused my research efforts on microevolutionary processes that shape plant genomes in functionally relevant ways: 1) the evolution of sex chromosomes and sexual dimorphism; 2) the evolution of duplicate genes. Both of these processes exemplify how structural changes in the plant genome can lead to major innovations in plant development. Members of my lab have also addressed the role of transposable element proliferation in homoploid hybrid speciation as well the evolutionary processes that have shaped the structure of genetic and morphological diversity of natural plant populations.

Biographical Information

As an evolutionary geneticist, I combine the fields of genomics, systematics, developmental genetics, and molecular evolutionary biology to discern the molecular mechanisms underlying the origin and evolution of morphological diversity. I am particularly interested in understanding the evolutionary and functional consequences of changes in plant genomes that have given rise to plant morphological and species diversity. By studying these processes on both genomic and functional levels, I hope to bridge the gap between genomics and the evolution of morphological diversity.

I have focused my research efforts on microevolutionary processes that shape plant genomes in functionally relevant ways: 1) the evolution of sex chromosomes and sexual dimorphism; 2) the evolution of duplicate genes. Both of these processes exemplify how structural changes in the plant genome can lead to major innovations in plant development. Members of my lab have also addressed the role of transposable element proliferation in homoploid hybrid speciation as well the evolutionary processes that have shaped the structure of genetic and morphological diversity of natural plant populations.

Selected Publications

1. Owens SM*, Harberson NA**, Moore R.C. (2013) Asymmetric functional divergence of young, dispersed gene duplicates in Arabidopsis thaliana. Journal of Molecular Evolution 76:13-27.Weingartner L.A.*, and Moore R.C. (2012). Contrasting patterns of X/Y polymorphism distinguish Carica papaya from other sex chromosome systems. Molecular Biology and Evolution 29:3909-3920.
2. Gschwend, A.R., Weingartner, L.A.*, Moore, R.C., and Ming, R. (2012). The sex-specific region of sex chromosomes in animals and plants. Chromosome Research 20:57-69.
3. Brown, J.E.*, Bauman, J.M.*, Lawrie, J.F.**, Rocha, O.J., and Moore, R.C. (2012) The structure of morphological and genetic diversity in natural populations of Carica papaya (Caricaceae) in Costa Rica.  Biotropica 44:179-188.
4. Diggle, P., DiStilio, V., Gachwend, A., Golenberg, E., Moore, R.C., Russell, J., Sinclair, J. (2011). Multiple developmental processes underlie sex differentiation in flowering plants. Trends in Genetics 27:368-376.
5. Wu, X., Wang, J., Na, J-K., Yu, Q., Moore R.C., Zee, F., Huber, S.C., Ming, R. (2010). The origin of the non-recombining region of sex chromosomes in Carica and Vasconcellea. Plant Journal 63:801-810.
6. Staton, S.E.*, Ungerer, MC, and Moore R.C. (2009). The genomic organization of TY3/GYPSY-like retrotransposons in Helianthus (Asteraceae) homoploid hybrid species. American Journal of Botany 96:1645-1655

Courses Taught

N/A