Teachers

We are interested in how genetic variation shapes, and is shaped by, biotic interactions. To analyze quantitative genetic variation in complex ecological traits, our research employs cutting-edge tools of computational biology and functional genomics. For example, we have been focusing on the following three topics: (i) Quantitative genetics of plant-plant interaction; (ii) Evolutionary ecology of anti-herbivore defense; and (iii) Data analysis in ecology, evolution, and genetics. Currently, we are working on plants and insects, but other projects involving biotic interactions are also welcome.

Photograph of our field experiment using 200 natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Arabidopsis thaliana plant attacked by insect herbivores in the field.

References

Detecting frequency-dependent selection through the effects of genotype similarity on fitness components. Y. Sato, Y. Takahashi, C. Xu, and K.K. Shimizu, Evolution, 2023, 77, 1145–1157.　https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpad028

Neighbor GWAS: incorporating neighbor genotypic identity into genome-wide association studies of field herbivory. Y. Sato, E. Yamamoto, K.K. Shimizu, and A.J. Nagano, Heredity, 2021,126, 597–614.　https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-020-00401-w

Optimal foraging by herbivores maintains polymorphism in defence in a natural plant population. Y. Sato, K. Ito, and H. Kudoh, Functional Ecology, 2017, 31, 2233-2243.　　https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12937

Herbivore-mediated interaction promotes the maintenance of trichome dimorphism through negative frequency-dependent selection. Y. Sato, and H. Kudoh, American Naturalist, 2017, 190, E67-E77.  https://doi.org/10.1086/692603　

Trans-Scale Biology of Plants: Integrating genomics, phenomics, and ecology to unveil biodiversity (in Japanese). Y. Sato, and T. Muranaka (eds.), Species Biology Series, 2023, Bun-ichi Sogo Shuppan, Tokyo, Japan. ISBN 978-4-8299-6210-7.