The role of WGD in evolution is controversial and remains elusive. Some consider WGDs as an evolutionary dead-end, while others consider it an evolutionary opportunity. There is growing evidence that the long-term establishment of polyploidy might be correlated with drastic changes in the environment or with stressful conditions. However, the mechanistic underpinnings of why and how polyploids might be able to outcompete non-polyploids at times of environmental upheaval remain unclear. I always had a special interest in studying complex biological systems and I believe simulating and evolving complex networks in silico might be a powerful way to study real biological systems. Therefore, my research focuses on modeling the “Gene Regulatory Network” of non-polyploids and polyploids by using complex network tools. Next, we simulate evolving those networks under normal and challenging conditions to better understand how/why exactly polyploidy might confer a selective advantage over non-polyploidy.
