Publications

Diversifying selection on a key regulator of missing-self innate immunity Rocco F. Notarnicola et al. (2026, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag082) show how an innate immune regulator (CFH), thought to be conserved by its interactions with self-components, is instead very polymorphic and under diversifying selection, likely due to selective pressures from pathogens like Borrelia highjacking it to evade immunity….

In the study published in Ecology Letters  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ele.70377 Neha Pandey and colleagues report that populations in which males are aggressive and armoured in lethal weapons are less stable compared to populations in which males are benign. Populations with aggressive males are mores sensitive to population disturbances and show slower recovery. This research was funded by NCN grant UMO-2020/39/B/NZ8/00152/4…

In their recent article published in Evolutionary Applications (DOI: 10.1111/eva.70180), Bartosz Łabiszak and Witold Wachowiak examined adaptive variation in Scots pine across a wide environmental gradient in Northern and Central Europe and assessed the extent of genomic offset under projected future habitat conditions. Their findings highlight a strong role of temperature in shaping population-level adaptation and reveal…

Two recent articles by Prof. Wachowiak’s team (Molecular Ecology and BMC Plant Biology) provide complementary evidence on the repeatability of hybridization between Pinus sylvestris and Pinus mugo. Analyses of thousands of individuals from multiple contact zones show that, despite environmental differences, early stages of hybrid speciation follow a similar pattern. The studies document widespread, asymmetric gene flow and strong selection…

Publication by Michał Bogdziewicz et al. engages with a recent paper by Meersch and Wolkovich, to discuss how the summer solstice serves as a fixed, range-wide cue that synchronizes temperature sensing for flowering in European beech. Unlike growth processes, where local adaptation to environmental conditions is beneficial, masting relies on synchrony among individuals to enhance…

A review by Michal Bogdziewicz and co-authors published in Annual Reviews in Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics explores the phenomenon of mast seeding, where perennial plants produce highly variable and synchronized seed crops. It synthesizes current knowledge on the mechanisms plants use to achieve this variability, from hypersensitivity to weather cues to interactions between pollination, fruit…

An article co-authored by Zbigniew Celka has been published in the journal Ecological Indicators, focusing on indicator species in three forest types of Poland (Tilio-Carpinetum, Galio-Carpinetum, and Stellario-Carpinetum). The study revealed both new species that currently best characterize the described associations and a significant group of mosses with strong bioindication potential. Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113339

A paper presenting a mechanistic simulator of a virtual species has been published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution: https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14475 The article is part of the PhD thesis of Katarzyna Markowska from the Population Ecology Lab. The research was funded by the National Science Centre (grant no. 2018/29/B/NZ8/00066) and the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Centre…

In a study published in Molecular Ecology (http://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17534), Joanna Różańska-Wróbel, Jacek Radwan and their collaborators demonstrate that Major Histocompatibility (MHC) alleles predict production of antibodies against specific variants of OspC, a protein used by Borrelia to manipulate host immunity. The results provide an example of an interaction between immunity and infectivity genes predicted by the…

Researchers from around the world, including AMU biologist Jonathan Parrett, have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal ‘thresholds’ for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results, published today in Nature, could widen the scope of which forests are considered ‘worth’ conserving, but also show how much logging degrades forests beyond the…