Adaption and speciation in unicellular algae and their interaction with ecology

The population of micro-algae and how population differentiation ultimately leads to speciation is investigated. Population differentiation will be determined for natural populations, experimental evolution used to estimate adaptation rates, and their consequences for the community level determined. Finally, niche differentiation and the evolution of reproductive barriers in closely related species will ben ivestigated.In parallel, sex and mating type related genes will be identified and their evolution unraveled.