Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology

We are opening a new PhD position !

11/6/2024

PhD Studentship in Plant-Herbivore Ecology:
Global trends in phytochemical diversity and plant-herbivore interactions

We are seeking enthusiastic candidates to join the prestigious JUNIOR STAR project funded by the Czech Science Foundation, aimed at exploring the global drivers of phytochemical diversity. This project investigates the fascinating diversity of plant metabolites by analysing how various aspects of chemical diversity correlate with biotic and abiotic stress factors on the global scale. To test our hypotheses, we focus on the Salicaceae family that represents a unique model system, being globally distributed in diverse environments. Using advanced metabolomics techniques, we will dissect the chemical profiles of Salicaceae species and assess various dimensions of their chemical diversity across latitudes and continents. We will explore how these dimensions govern interactions with both biotic and abiotic factors. This project will reveal the ecological processes that maintain chemical diversity and generate the seemingly endless number specialized metabolites that allow plants to thrive on our planet.

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New Publications

Renoult S.A. , Leong J.V., Mezzomo P., Sebek P., Koutecký P., Kukla J., Nguyen P., Moos M., Pokorny V., Wagner N.D., Frouz J., van Dam N.M.,  Volf M., (2025) Effects of hybridization on chemical diversity and plant-insect herbivore interactions in *****Salix alba* × *fragilis***, Journal of Experimental Botany, eraf296, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/eraf296

Mezzomo P., Leong J.V., , Pokorny V., Jorge L..R.,  Volfova T., Kozel P., Vodrazka P.,Seifert C. L.,  Aurová K., Moos M., Engström M.T., Salminen J.P.,  Volf M. (2025) Effects of pronounced seasonal turnover and intraspecific variation in leaf traits on specialization of insect herbivores associated with six Salicaceae hosts**. Oecologia 207 : article number: 34.
DOI: 10.1007/s00442-025-05672-w

Leong J., Matos Maravi P. F., Núñez R., Nunes R., Liang W., Braby M.F., Doleck T., Aduse-Poku K., Inayoshi Y., Hsu Y.-F., Wahlberg N., Peggie D., et al., Kawahara A.Y., Pierce N., Lohman D. (2025) Around the World in 26 Million Years: Diversification and Biogeography of Pantropical Grass-Yellow Eurema Butterflies (Pieridae: Coliadinae). Journal of Biogeography Early View : DOI: 10.1111/jbi.15107

Aubona G., Mezzomo P., Sedio B.E., Staab M.,Volf M. (2024) Neighbourhood effects on herbivory damage and chemical profiles in short-rotation coppice willows and their ybrids,  Phytochemistry, 228, 114249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.114249

Ogutcen E., de Lima Ferreira P., Wagner N.D., Marinček P., Leong J.V., Aubona G., Cavender-Bares J., Michálek J., Schroeder L., Sedio B.E., Vašut R.J.,  Volf M., (2024) Phylogenetic insights into the Salicaceae: The evolution of willows and beyond. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 108161,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108161
Mezzomo P., Leong J.V., Vodrážka P., Moos M., Jorge L.R., Volfová T., Michálek J., de L. Ferreira P., Kozel P., Brian E. Sedio B.E., Volf M., (2024)  Variation in induced responses in volatile and non-volatile metabolites among six willow species: Do willow species share responses to herbivory? Phytochemistry, 114222, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.114222

Marinček P., Léveillé-Bourret É. , Heiduk F., Leong J.V , Bailleul S.M., Volf M., . Wagner N.D. (2024) **Challenge accepted: Evolutionary lineages versus taxonomic classification of North American shrub willows (Salix)**. the American Journal of Botany, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16361

Leong J.V., Mezzomo P., Kozel P., Volfová T., de Lima Ferreira P., Seifert C.L., Butterill P.T., Freiberga I., Michálek J., Matos-Maraví P., Weinhold A., Engström M.T., Salminen J-P., Segar S.T., Sedio B.E.,  Volf M. (2024) Effects of individual traits vs. trait syndromes on assemblages of various herbivore guilds associated with central European Salix. Oecologia, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11164786.

Xiao X., Jorge L.R., Volf M., Moos M., Gélin U., Finnie S., Freiberga I., Jancuchova‐Laskova J. , Weiss M., Novotny V., Sam K. (2024) **The effect of drought‐induced leaf traits on Ficus leaf palatability is species specific**. Ecosphere 15 - 5, e483,
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4831a

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