Date: 15th April 2026
Time: 13:00
Title: Plant mating system provides a view into speciation, gene flow, seed development and teaching statistics
Location: Lecture room B3, Forest sciences building, Latokartanonkaari and online via Zoom
Host: Tanja Pyhäjärvi
Abstract: Among the most consequential decisions in our lives is our reproductive partner. In plants a major axis of this decision comes down to a binary question — “will I mate with myself (self-fertilization) or some other pollen source (outcrossing)?” Although most species tend to be predominantly outcrossing, recently diverged selfing lineages are quite common.
This talk will show how I have utilize this variation in plant mating system to (1) understand the process of speciation and gene flow, (2) Teach introductory biostatistics in an AI world, and (3) Generate novel predictions about seed development in pines. The latter direction is the focus of my collaborative wrk with Dr Pyhäjärvi and her research group.
Brandvain is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, in St Paul, Minnesota USA. His research focuses on the evolutionary causes and consequences of plant mating system evolution.