News! Norm has moved to Clemson University and is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences as of Fall, 2022. For now, the lab will be split between Clemson and the Chicago Botanic Garden, but prospective students and postdocs should email Norm at nwicket@clemson.edu. Please reach out if you are interested in working with us at Clemson - we have postdoc, student, and technician positions available!
What are we? The Wickett Lab is part of the Graduate Program in Plant Biology and Conservation (PBC), a partnership between Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) and the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG). Masters and PhD students in this program take classes at, and receive their degree from Northwestern, while they conduct their research at CBG and in the field. Faculty in the program hold appointments as Conservation Scientists at CBG and as Adjunct Professors at Northwestern. For more information on the program, please click HERE.
What do we do? Research in the Wickett lab focuses on how genome-level processes (e.g. gene duplication, horizontal gene transfer, introgression) and natural selection have shaped the morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic diversity of plants. Projects in the lab span a broad diversity of photosynthetic organisms, including bryophytes, flowering plants, diatoms, parasitic plants, and more. Ongoing work includes the evolution of floral scent in evening primroses (Onagraceae), breeding system evolution and phylogeny of the Hawaiian Islands endemic genus Schiedea (Caryophyllaceae), phylogenomics of pleurocarpous mosses, and horizontal gene transfer and genomics of diatoms. Students in the lab either carve out their own projects within these larger ones, or develop their own projects. However, all projects in the lab generally share two common themes: What are the genomic signatures that coincide with the origin of fundamental life history traits, and what is the relationship between these processes/traits and diversification? To address these questions, we use a diversity of approaches, from field-work to high-throughput DNA sequencing methods (genome sequencing, target-enrichment, transcriptomics, RAD-Seq), all with a heavy emphasis on using both gene and species phylogenies.
Join us! Are you looking for postdoc opportunities, PhD or Masters positions, or undergraduate research experience? Different positions may be available at different times, so please reach out if you're interested by emailing Norm at nwickett@chicagobotanic.org. If you are a prospective graduate student, note that application deadlines are December 1 (PhD) and February 15 (Masters). Reaching out to prospective advisors before applying to graduate school is a great first step in the application process. Helpful tips on how to contact faculty members about grad school opportunities can be found HERE. If you are interested in the PBC program but haven't yet identified a prospective mentor, please fill out the online form found HERE and a faculty member who shares your interests will reach out.
Interested in joining us? Send Norm an email to find out about opportunities in the lab: nwickett@chicagobotanic.org.
PhD (2007) University of Connecticut
Norm is interested broadly in plant diversity and uses comparative genomic and phylogenomic approaches to understand the relationship between the diversification of genes, genomes, and species in plant groups ranging from mosses to angiosperms.
MS (2013) Northwestern University
Colby is interested in the evolution of meiosis and related genes in pre- and post-polyploid plant populations, with a current focus on the evolutionary history of meiosis-related genes and patterns of conservation and change across the phylogeny of green plants.
PhD (2017) Oklahoma State University
Angela is a plant systematist and evolutionary biologist who has worked with Asclepias and Solanum and is now leading the efforts to assemble, annotate, and analyze genomes of Schiedea. Angela is also providing expertise on many target-enrichment projects in the lab.
BS (2017) Brown University
Haley is interested in the evolution of plant volatiles and their role in plant-pollinator interactions. Currently, Haley is studying the genetic basis of a floral scent polymorphism in Oenothera harringtonii using genome-wide association studies.
BA (2017) Oberlin College
Elena is interested in the intersection of phylogenetics and plant conservation, and is currently working on using allele histories to infer relationships in Schiedea.
BA (2020) University of Georgia
Juan was an REU student in 2019 and continues to work on pleurocarpous moss phylogenomics using over 800 genes. Juan is currently a PhD student at NYBG.
Research in the lab is highly collaborative and we work with scientists throughout the US, and internationally. At CBG, we frequently collaborate with Jeremie Fant and Krissa Skogen.
Positions Available
Please contact Norm if you are interested in graduate or undergraduate opportunities in the lab! Click HERE for more information!
Genome sequencing, phylogenomics, and HGT in diatoms
Chemical Ecology of plant defenses in Onagraceae
Pleurocarpous moss phylogenomics and transcriptomics
Phylo- and population genomics in Onagraceae
Analysis of performance of ortholog circumscription methods
Transcriptomes and historical selection in breadfruit
Leafy liverwort systematics (Acrobolbaceae)
Gene expression and a floral scent polymorphism
HybSeq and phylogenomics in Oenothera section Pachylophus
Protein conservation across diatom evolution
Intron conservation among multiple diatom genomes
Population genetics using RAD-Seq in Oenothera
Buxbaumia aphylla, a moss with a massive sporophyte and highly reduced gametophyte.
We work with a diversity of organisms in the Wickett Lab including (but not limited to) bryophytes, diatoms, and angiosperms. We also use a diversity of methods, but all of our projects include a high-throughput sequencing component, phylogenetic methods (gene trees and species trees) and a significant amount of bioinformatics. All of our projects share a common thread - understanding the molecular processes that coincide with the origin of fundamental life history traits and the relationship between these processes/traits and diversification. The primary, NSF-funded projects of the lab are described here.
Unlocking the evolutionary history of Schiedea (Caryophyllaceae): rapid radiation of an endemic plant genus in the Hawaiian Islands
The primary aim of this project is to reconstruct the pattern of breeding system evolution in Schiedea through an integrated program of field, laboratory, and genomic studies. Nuclear genome sequencing, targeted sequence capture, GBS will be used to reconstruct a highly resolved phylogenetic tree of Schiedea, identify sources of phylogenetic conflict, and investigate patterns of historical introgression. The phylogenetic hypotheses developed will be used to interpret the evolution of breeding systems including transitions from hermaphroditism to dioecy, shifts from biotic to abiotic pollination, and traits associated with pollination biology (including scent and nectar production).
(Photo: Norm Wickett)
Collaborators: Ann Sakai & Steve Weller (UC Irvine), Mike Moore (Oberlin), Warren Wagner (NTBG, Smithsonian), Krissa Skogen (CBG), Lauren Weisenberger (USFWS)
Dimensions: Landscapes of Linalool – Scent mediated diversification of flowers and moths across Western North America
Plant scents are important drivers of the relationships between angiosperms and insects (herbivory, plant defense, pollination), but remain poorly integrated into our understanding of floral evolution and pollination ecology. This study examines the role of floral scent in the diversification of the western North American evening primroses (Onagraceae) and their pollinators (hawkmoths, bees) and floral and seed predators (Mompha moths). The research examines functional trait variation and selective forces in the field and experimental arrays, the genetic basis of the variation from the population to phylogenetic level using comparative genomics, and patterns of phylogenetic diversity in Onagraceae and Mompha.
(Photo: Krissa Skogen)
Collaborators: Krissa Skogen (Lead PI) & Jeremie Fant (CBG), Rachel Levin (Amherst), Rob Raguso (Cornell), Mike Moore (Oberlin), Warren Wagner (Smithsonian)
Evaluating the contributions of horizontally transferred bacterial genes and endogenous duplication events to the diversification of diatoms
The goal of this project is to identify the sources of novel diatom traits, which have contributed to their extraordinary metabolic and species-level diversity. Some traits are encoded by genes acquired from distantly related bacteria, an entirely different kingdom in the tree of life. Other genes appear to have been generated by processes acting within diatom genomes. This project will generate genome-scale data for 250 phylogenetically disparate diatom species. These data will be used to: (1) infer evolutionary relationships, (2) identify the sources - whether intrinsic or extrinsic - of new genes, and (3) correlate the pattern and timing of gene acquisitions with the origins of novel traits.
(Photo: Andy Alverson)
Collaborators: Andy Alverson (University of Arkansas), Matt Parks (Central Oklahoma University)
Assembling the Pleurocarpous Moss Tree of Life – Resolving the rapid radiation using genomics and transcriptomics
The moss lineage Hypnanae underwent an explosive radiation following its origin 165 mya. Today, it comprises about 5,000 species, but their grouping into evolutionary units is obscure. Inferences from extensive sets of genes sampled using target enrichment and transcriptomes will provide a robust framework to further our understanding of this diverse, and ecologically important lineage. This study focuses on untangling the relationships among species, on identifying the geologic or climatic shifts that triggered these events, and on understanding the significance of morphological innovations allowing adaptations to diverse habitats.
(Photo: Blanka Shaw)
Collaborators: Bernard Goffinet (UConn), Jon Shaw (Duke), Matt Johnson (Texas Tech), Rafa Medina (Augustana, Illinois), Yang Liu (Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen)
The Beagle Channel. Photo taken from the Chilean island of Navarino, home of the Omora Ethnobotanical Park.
All publications listed below are linked to journal sources. Please email Norm (nwickett@chicagobotanic.org) if you are unable to access any of the linked papers.
Das, M, M Fernández-Aparicio, Z Yang, K Huang, NJ Wickett, S Alford, EK Wafula, CW dePamphilis, H Bouwmeester, MP Timko, JI Yoder, JH Westwood. 2015. Parasitic plants Striga and Phelipanche dependent upon exogenous strigolactones for germination have retained genes for strigolactone biosynthesis. American Journal of Plant Sciences 6(8): 1151-1166. OPEN ACCESS
Merckx, VSFT, JV Freudenstein, J Kissling, MJM Christenhusz, RE Stotler, B Crandall-Stotler, NJ Wickett, PJ Rudall, HM de Kamer, PJM Maas. 2013. Taxonomy and Classification In Merckx, V (Ed.) Mycoheterotrophy: The Biology of Plants Living on Fungi. Springer, 356pp.
Goffinet B, AJ Shaw, CJ Cox, NJ Wickett & S Boles. 2004. Phylogenetic inferences in the Orthotrichoideae (Orthotrichaceae: Bryophyta) based on variation in four loci from all genomes. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 98:270-289.
Oenothera section Gaura. Norm's backyard.
New people, pictures, publications, and other activity. Move your cursor over each image for captions and links.