Diana Gamba

Pennsylvania State University | Penn State · Department of Biology

Phenotypic and genomic diversity in Arabidopsis thaliana may be associated with adaptation along its wide elevational range, but it is unclear whether elevational clines are consistent among different mountain ranges. We took a multi‐regional view of selection associated with elevation. In a diverse panel of ecotypes, we measured plant traits under...

Local adaptation may facilitate range expansion during invasions, but the mechanisms promoting destructive invasions remain unclear. Cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ), native to Eurasia and Africa, has invaded globally, with particularly severe impacts in western North America. We sequenced 307 genotypes and conducted controlled experiments. We found...

High-dimensional variable selection has emerged as one of the prevailing statistical challenges in the big data revolution. Many variable selection methods have been adapted for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to phenotypic variation in genome-wide association studies. We develop a Bayesian variable selection regression mo...

Scientists must have an integrative understanding of ecology and evolution across spatial and temporal scales to predict how species will respond to global change. Although comprehensively investigating these processes in nature is challenging, the infrastructure and data from long-term ecological research networks can support cross-disciplinary in...

Characterizing spatial patterns in allele frequencies is fundamental to evolutionary biology because these patterns contain evidence of underlying processes. However, the spatial scales at which gene flow, changing selection, and drift act are often unknown. Many of these processes can operate inconsistently across space, causing nonstationary patt...

Aim Patterns of individual variation are key to testing hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying biogeographic patterns. If species distributions are determined by environmental constraints, then populations near range margins may have reduced performance and be adapted to harsher environments. Model organisms are potentially important systems fo...

Animal pollinators directly affect plant gene flow by transferring pollen grains between individuals. Pollinators with restricted mobility are predicted to limit gene flow within and among populations, whereas pollinators that fly longer distances are likely to promote genetic cohesion. These predictions, however, remain poorly tested. We examined...

The nexus of art and science will be featured at Science & Rock Fest in 2023 in a most enjoyable fashion. These two worlds are often viewed as incompatible, but both are endeavors where creativity, skills, and motivation converge, resulting in extraordinary works and findings. The project has two components. The first is a series of hands-on worksh...

Arabidopsis thaliana has a wide elevational range and much of its diversity may be associated with local adaptation to elevation. We took a multi-regional view of the genomics and physiology of elevational adaptation in Arabidopsis, with >200 ecotypes, including 17 newly collected from Africa. We measured plant responses to potential high elevation...

Characterizing spatial patterns in allele frequencies is fundamental to evolutionary biology because such patterns can inform on underlying processes. However, the spatial scales at which changing selection, gene flow, and drift act are often unknown. Many of these processes can operate inconsistently across space (causing non-stationary patterns)....

AIM The role of environmental conditions in limiting species distributions is often hypothesized, but it is challenging to gather large-scale data to demonstrate environmental impacts on individual performance. The past and present biogeography of model organisms is key context to understanding how environment shapes species’ genetic and phenotypic...

Evaluating the factors that drive patterns of population differentiation in plants is critical for understanding several biological processes such as local adaptation and incipient speciation. Previous studies have given conflicting results regarding the significance of pollination mode, seed dispersal mode, mating system, growth form, and latitudi...

In our published monograph of the Octopleura clade of Miconia (Ruiz & Pavón 1794: 60), we proposed a number of new combinations and new names to reflect the nested position of this group of 33 species within the large and megadiverse neotropical genus Miconia based on morphological and molecular data sets (Gamba & Almeda 2014). At least three of th...

Examining dispersal is critical for understanding the diversity of Andean-centered plant lineages, like Burmeistera (Campanulaceae). One-third of its species present an unusual inflated berry. Unlike the bright colors of non-inflated fruits in the genus, these fruits are typically dull-green; however, the fact that the seeds are loosely held in the...

The circadian clock is a transcriptional/translational feedback loop that drives the rhythmic expression of downstream mRNAs. Termed “clock-controlled genes,” these molecular outputs of the circadian clock orchestrate cellular, metabolic, and behavioral rhythms. As part of our on-going work to characterize key upstream regulators of circadian mRNA...

In our recently published monograph of the Octopleura clade of Miconia Ruiz & Pavon (1794: 60, Gamba & Almeda 2014) we proposed a number of new combinations and new names to reflect the nested position of this assemblage of 33 species within the large and diverse Neotropical genus Miconia based on morphological and molecular data sets. In proposing...

While nectar bats have been found to carry nearly seven times as much pollen as hummingbirds, many other details of pollen transport by these nocturnal pollinators remain poorly understood. For bees, the majority of the pollen they pick up from a flower is deposited on the following one or two flower visits because they groom heavily, while for hum...

The Octopleura clade of Miconia is a natural group of Neotropical subshrubs and small trees comprising some thirty- three species. These had previously been described in Ossaea and Clidemia, two traditionally recognized genera of Miconieae, but this natural group is nested within the megadiverse genus Miconia. This study represents the first compre...

Article PHYTOTAXA ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) Accepted by Renato Goldenberg: 171 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Abstract Miconia indicoviolacea is described from the western slopes of the western cordillera in the Chocó biogeographic region of Colom...