Wikipedia

Jonathan F. Wendel

Jonathan F. Wendel is an American evolutionary biologist and botanist known for his research on plant genome evolution, polyploidy, and the genetics and evolution of cotton (Gossypium). He is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University. His research has contributed to understanding genome duplication, speciation, and the evolutionary consequences of polyploidy in plants.

Jonathan F. Wendel
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BS)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MS, PhD)
Known forResearch on polyploidy, plant genome evolution, and cotton genomics
AwardsMember, National Academy of Sciences (2023)
Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023)
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010)
Scientific career
FieldsEvolutionary biology, Botany, Genomics
InstitutionsIowa State University

Education

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Wendel received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan in 1976. He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Master of Science in 1980 and a PhD in 1983.[1]

Career

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Following completion of his PhD in 1983, Wendel worked as a geneticist with the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service at North Carolina State University from 1983 to 1986.

He joined Iowa State University in 1986 as an assistant professor of botany. He was promoted to associate professor in 1991 and full professor in 1996. In 2012, he was appointed Distinguished Professor at Iowa State University.[2] He served as chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology from 2003 to 2017 and previously served as interim chair from 2002 to 2003.[3]

Research

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Wendel's research focuses on plant genomic and phenotypic diversity, with particular emphasis on polyploidy (whole-genome duplication).[4] Much of his work examines the evolutionary consequences of allopolyploidy, in which two diverged diploid genomes become united within a single nucleus.[5] His studies have investigated genomic processes associated with allopolyploid formation and evolution, including intergenomic gene conversion, homoeolog expression bias, duplicate gene co-regulation, expression dominance, biased genome fractionation, and the evolutionary trajectories of duplicated genetic networks.

A major focus of his research has been the cotton genus (Gossypium), which he has used as a model system to examine genome doubling, genome organization, gene expression divergence, and the genetic basis of domestication and crop traits.[6] His work has contributed to understanding how duplicated genes and regulatory networks evolve following genome merger and doubling.[7]

In addition to cotton, Wendel has conducted research on other plant groups, including maize (Zea mays),[8] rice (Oryza),[9] bamboos,[10] and baobabs (Adansonia),[11] using molecular and genomic approaches to study phylogenetic relationships, polyploidy, and plant diversification.[12]

Honors and awards

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Selected publications

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  • Wendel, J. F. (1989). "New World tetraploid cottons contain Old World cytoplasm". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 86: 4132–4136.
  • Wendel, J. F.; Schnabel, A.; Seelanan, T. (1995). "Bidirectional interlocus concerted evolution following allopolyploid speciation in cotton (Gossypium)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 92: 280–284.
  • Wendel, J. F. (2000). "Genome evolution in polyploids". Plant Molecular Biology. 42: 225–249.
  • Adams, K.; Cronn, R.; Percifield, R.; Wendel, J. F. (2003). "Genes duplicated by polyploidy show unequal contributions to the transcriptome and organ-specific reciprocal silencing". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 100: 4649–4654.
  • Doyle, J. J.; Flagel, L. A.; Paterson, A. H.; Rapp, R.; Soltis, D. E.; Soltis, P. S.; Wendel, J. F. (2008). "Evolutionary genetics of genome merger and doubling in plants". Annual Review of Genetics. 42: 443–461.
  • Rapp, R. A.; Udall, J. A.; Wendel, J. F. (2009). "Genomic expression dominance in allopolyploids". BMC Biology. 7: 18.
  • Yoo, M.-J.; Wendel, J. F. (2014). "Comparative evolutionary and developmental dynamics of the cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fiber transcriptome". PLOS Genetics. 10 (1): e1004073.
  • Wendel, J. F. (2015). "The wondrous cycles of polyploidy in plants". American Journal of Botany. 102: 1753–1756.
  • Wendel, J. F.; Jackson, S. A.; Meyers, B. C.; Wing, R. A. (2016). "Evolution of plant genome architecture". Genome Biology. 17: 37.
  • Wendel, J. F.; Lisch, D.; Hu, G.; Mason, A. S. (2018). "The long and short of doubling down: polyploidy, epigenetics, and the temporal dynamics of genome fractionation". Current Opinion in Genetics & Development. 49: 1–7.
  • Hu, G.; Wendel, J. F. (2019). "Cis-trans controls and regulatory novelty accompanying allopolyploidization". New Phytologist. 221: 1691–1700.
  • Nieto-Feliner, G.; Casacuberta, J.; Wendel, J. F. (2020). "Genomics of evolutionary novelty in hybrids and polyploids". Frontiers in Genetics.
  • Yuan, D.; Grover, C. E.; Hu, G.; Wendel, J. F. (2021). "Parallel and intertwining threads of domestication in allopolyploid cotton (Gossypium)". Advanced Science.
  • Viot, C. R.; Wendel, J. F. (2023). "Evolution of the cotton genus Gossypium and its domestication in the Americas: a review". Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences.
  • Grover, C.; Wendel, J. F. (2025). "A high-resolution model of gene expression during Gossypium hirsutum fiber development". BMC Genomics.
  • Wendel, Jonathan F.; et al. (2026). "Genomic diversity and the domestication history of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 123 (21). doi:10.1073/pnas.2607107123.

References

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  1. ↑ "Jonathan F Wendel". Iowa State University.
  2. ↑ "Employees will be honored at Friday ceremony". Iowa State University.
  3. ↑ "Dr. Jonathan F Wendel". Iowa State University.
  4. ↑ Twyford, Alex D.; Conover, Justin L.; Doyle, Jeff J.; Mason, Annaliese S.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Soltis, Pamela S.; Wendel, Jonathan F. (November 2025). "The polyploid continuum and the landscape of polyploid genomic variation". American Journal of Botany. 112 (11) e70121. doi:10.1002/ajb2.70121. ISSN 1537-2197.
  5. ↑ Buggs, Richard J. A.; Wendel, Jonathan F.; Doyle, Jeffrey J.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Soltis, Pamela S.; Coate, Jeremy E. (5 August 2014). "The legacy of diploid progenitors in allopolyploid gene expression patterns". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 369 (1648) 20130354. doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0354. ISSN 1471-2970.
  6. ↑ Dunham, Will. "Scientists unravel the history of cotton domestication". Reuters.
  7. ↑ Wendel, Jonathan F.; Brubaker, Curt L.; Seelanan, Tosak (2010). "The Origin and Evolution of Gossypium". Physiology of Cotton. Springer Netherlands: 1–18. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-3195-2_1.
  8. ↑ Wendel, Jonathan F.; Goodman, Major M.; Stuber, C. W.; Beckett, J. B. (1 June 1988). "New isozyme systems for maize (Zea mays L.): Aconitate hydratase, adenylate kinase, NADH dehydrogenase, and shikimate dehydrogenase". Biochemical Genetics. 26 (5): 421–445. doi:10.1007/BF02401795. ISSN 1573-4927.
  9. ↑ Bao, Ying; Wendel, Jonathan F.; Ge, Song (April 2010). "Multiple patterns of rDNA evolution following polyploidy in Oryza". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (1): 136–142. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.10.023. ISSN 1095-9513.
  10. ↑ Zhang, Weiping; Wendel, Jonathan F.; Clark, Lynn G. (1 October 1997). "Bamboozled Again! Inadvertent Isolation of Fungal rDNA Sequences from Bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 8 (2): 205–217. doi:10.1006/mpev.1997.0422. ISSN 1055-7903.
  11. ↑ Baum, David A.; Small, Randall L.; Wendel, Jonathan F. (1 June 1998). "Biogeography and Floral Evolution of Baobabs Adansonia, Bombacaceae as Inferred From Multiple Data Sets". Systematic Biology. 47 (2): 181–207. doi:10.1080/106351598260879.
  12. ↑ Rafieva, Feruza U.; Turaev, Ozod S.; Toshpulatov, Abdulqahhor Kh.; Oripova, Barno B.; Kudratova, Mukhlisa K.; Safiullina, Asiya K.; Arslanova, Sevara K.; Gapparov, Bunyod M.; Iskandarov, Abdulloh A.; Makhmudova, Maftuna; Muradullayev, Alisher; Azimova, Laylo A.; Kholova, Madina D.; Ernazarova, Dilrabo K.; Kushanov, Fakhriddin N. (31 December 2026). "Phylogenetic relationships of tetraploid cotton species ( Gossypium subsp.) and their genetic potential for breeding programs". Cogent Food & Agriculture. 12 (1). doi:10.1080/23311932.2026.2620840.
  13. ↑ "Margaret Menzel Award - Genetics and Genomics". Botany.org.
  14. ↑ "ISU Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research". Iowa State University.
  15. ↑ "Wendel receives ICAC Research of the Year Award 2021". Iowa State University.
  16. ↑ "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)". American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
  17. ↑ "The Cotton Biotechnology Award". Cotton Incorporated.
  18. ↑ "Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America". Botany.org.
  19. ↑ "Jonathan Wendel". Fulbright Scholar Program.
  20. ↑ "ICAC Announces the Two Winners of the 2021 Cotton Researcher of the Year Award". ICAC. 8 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "Jonathan F. Wendel". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 13 February 2026.
  22. ↑ "Jonathan F. Wendel". National Academy of Sciences.
  23. ↑ "Dr. Jonathan Wendel Receives 2024 Cotton Genetics Research Award". National Cotton Council of America.
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