Description of the thesis topic

Sexual selection is generally thought to apply to all sexually reproducing anisogamous organisms typically presenting males producing greater numbers of smaller gametes than females. Sexual selection should therefore include plants. Yet, the test of general predictions from sexual selection theory are still largely lacking for the plant kingdom. This PhD aims at testing the most fundamental predictions of sexual selection theory, including female choice models (Fisherian and good-genes models) with a special focus on pollen and pistil traits. Indeed, cryptic female choice in plants might stem from simple morphological pistil traits or from the physiology of pistil tissues, which is known to actively provide nutritive and guidance molecules to pollen tubes. The PhD will benefit from a unique material developed for plants: the output of an experimental evolution protocol in which lines of Brassica rapa 'fast plants' have been maintained for 18 generations in monogamy vs. polygamy. The PhD candidate will study the evolution of pollen and pistil traits in these experimental evolution lines, but also the paternity biases induced by those traits and the genetic correlations between them through quantitative genetics.

Work Context

The PhD student will join a stimulating working atmosphere comprising enthusiastic researchers working on sexual selection in plants in the context of the SEXIPLANTS project with high collaboration opportunities. The PhD student will work at the Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM, UMR 5554). Montpellier offers a very stimulating scientific environment for evolutionary biologists with many seminars and opportunities to interact with many renowned scientists. The working language will be English but some notions of French will be handy in the daily life.