The Renner Lab explores evolutionary patterns and processes that drive functional diversification. We use plants and insects as models to study adaptation, and current projects examine the underlying genetics and evolution of chemical and structural defense mechanisms. We seek to understand how organisms acquire novel phenotypes through co-option of existing genes, tissues, and organs. Specifically, we investigate the role, regulation, and diversity of chemical defense genes, and examine the evolution of multi-step enzyme-catalyzed pathways that form defensive compounds in specialized tissues and organs. Our research combines experimental biology with whole genome sequencing, transcriptomics, phylogenetics, and morphology.
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Projects
Recent Publications
New records of Micromegistus bakeri, Trägårdh 1948 (Acari: Mesostigmata: Parantennulidae), a mite symbiotic on carabid beetles, and notes on the species’ distribution and host specificity
Riggins, N., Young, M. R., Renner, T., Beaulieu, F. & Skvarla, M., 2024, In: Acarologia. 64, 2, p. 575-591 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Dynamic evolution of the mTHF gene family associated with primary metabolism across life
Rork, A. M., Bala, A. S. & Renner, T., Dec 2024, In: BMC genomics. 25, 1, 432.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Subgenome dominance shapes novel gene evolution in the decaploid pitcher plant Nepenthes gracilis
Saul, F., Scharmann, M., Wakatake, T., Rajaraman, S., Marques, A., Freund, M., Bringmann, G., Channon, L., Becker, D., Carroll, E., Low, Y. W., Lindqvist, C., Gilbert, K. J., Renner, T., Masuda, S., Richter, M., Vogg, G., Shirasu, K., Michael, T. P. & Hedrich, R. & 2 others, , Dec 2023, In: Nature Plants. 9, 12, p. 2000-2015 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Genomic insights into the evolution of plant chemical defense
Drummond, C. P. & Renner, T., Aug 2022, In: Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 68, 102254.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
The digestive systems of carnivorous plants
Freund, M., Graus, D., Fleischmann, A., Gilbert, K. J., Lin, Q., Renner, T., Stigloher, C., Albert, V. A., Hedrich, R. & Fukushima, K., Sep 2022, In: Plant physiology. 190, 1, p. 44-59 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Acid or base? How do plants regulate the ecology of their phylloplane?
Gilbert, K. J. & Renner, T., Aug 1 2021, In: AoB PLANTS. 13, 4, plab032.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Author Correction: Primary Metabolism Co-Opted for Defensive Chemical Production in the Carabid Beetle, Harpalus pensylvanicus (Journal of Chemical Ecology, (2021), 47, 3, (334-349), 10.1007/s10886-021-01253-2)
Rork, A. M., Xu, S., Attygalle, A. & Renner, T., Mar 2021, In: Journal of Chemical Ecology. 47, 3, p. 350 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Primary Metabolism co-Opted for Defensive Chemical Production in the Carabid Beetle, Harpalus pensylvanicus
Rork, A. M., Xu, S., Attygalle, A. & Renner, T., Mar 2021, In: Journal of Chemical Ecology. 47, 3, p. 334-349 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Aquatic angiosperm ambiguities answered
Albert, V. A. & Renner, T., Mar 1 2020, In: Nature Plants. 6, 3, p. 181-183 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
The evolution of the mammalian ABCA6-like genes: Analysis of phylogenetic, expression, and population genetic data reveals complex evolutionary histories
Breuss, M. W., Mamerto, A., Renner, T. & Waters, E. R., 2020, In: Genome biology and evolution. 12, 11, p. 2093-2106 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Pygidial glands of Harpalus pensylvanicus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) contain resilin-rich structures
Rork, A. M., Mikó, I. & Renner, T., Mar 2019, In: Arthropod Structure and Development. 49, p. 19-25 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Patterns of alternative splicing vary between species during heat stress
Kannan, S., Halter, G., Renner, T. & Waters, E. R., Mar 1 2018, In: AoB PLANTS. 10, 2, ply013.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Carabidae Semiochemistry: Current and Future Directions
Rork, A. M. & Renner, T., Dec 1 2018, In: Journal of Chemical Ecology. 44, 12, p. 1069-1083 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Long-read sequencing uncovers the adaptive topography of a carnivorous plant genome
Lan, T., Renner, T., Ibarra-Laclette, E., Farr, K. M., Chang, T. H., Cervantes-Pérez, S. A., Zheng, C., Sankoff, D., Tang, H., Purbojati, R. W., Putra, A., Drautz-Moses, D. I., Schuster, S. C., Herrera-Estrella, L. & Albert, V. A., May 30 2017, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114, 22, p. E4435-E4441Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Molecular characterization and evolution of carnivorous sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.) class V β-1,3-glucanase
Michalko, J., Renner, T., Mészáros, P., Socha, P., Moravčíková, J., Blehová, A., Libantová, J., Polóniová, Z. & Matušíková, I., Jan 1 2017, In: Planta. 245, 1, p. 77-91 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review