Dr Catherine Kidner

Email: c.kidne@rbge.org.uk 
Phone: +44 (0)131 248 2838 

Google Scholar 

Understanding Diversity 

We are interested in determining the genetics underlying differences between species. We would like to know how many genetic changes and what type of changes determine differences in plant growth and form. A combination of classical genetics and new sequencing technologies is being used to link the variation in form to variation in the sequence and expression of genes. We are particularly interested applying these techniques to tropical species, as the tropics contain most of the world’s diversity but have been genetically understudied. 

Methods

We are interested in the application of large scale comparative sequence analysis to understanding patterns of diversity. We use transcriptomes, genomes and phylogenies to explore the diversity of tropical plants. We use the resources of the living collections at RBGE for expression analysis and are using Hyb-Seq to mine genetic data from herbarium samples. 

Study Systems 

Begonia 

Begonia is one of the largest angiosperm genera and well represented in flora across the tropics. Understanding the drivers and the results of speciation patterns in Begonia will help us understand tropical diversity. We have produced a genetic map, several transcriptomes, a reference and genomes for the group and are using these to identify the genetics underlying species-level diversity patterns. 

Inga 

Inga is a group of about 300 species of leguminous trees of the neotropics. It is cultivated as a shade tree in agro-forestry. We have been using Hyb-Seq to produce a well resolved phylogeny for the genus and are using comparative transcriptomics to identify traits associated with species-level variation, particularly in herbivore defence. 

Other groups 

We are interested all aspects of comparative genetics and genomics in underexplored plants.