Adeline Barnaud

Research

Main research area: Evolutionary Ecology and Plant Population Genetics

My research focus lies in the field of plant evolutionary genetics. I am particularly interested by evolutionary processes that have shaped the genetic diversity of plants. Understanding plant evolution can contribute to the scientific basis for managing agricultural and natural ecosystems and conserving genetic resources.

During my PhD, I worked in the Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology and in the Centre for Agricultural Research applied to International Development in France. The main objective of my PhD research was to identify the relative roles of biological factors and farmers’ practices on the dynamics of genetic diversity in populations of sorghum plants in a traditional farming system in Northern Cameroon.

I am currently involved in postdoctoral studies at the Centre for Invasion Biology in collaboration with Dr. Bettine van Vuuren and Prof. Melodie McGeoch. My postdoctoral studies focus on the systematic of the family Brassicaceae (the mustard and cabbage family) with a special emphasis on canola (Brassica napus) and its weedy and wild relatives in the Western Cape region (South Africa). Natural hybridization occur between many domesticated plants and their wild relatives and might lead to increased weediness and invasiveness. Addressing question such as the phylogenetic relationships among the wild-weed-crop complex in South Africa, and the landscape genetics of these populations, will allow a comprehensive understanding of the biological and environmental factors that may favor or limit the risk associated with weedy plants.

Publications

  • A. Barnaud, G. Trigueros, E. Garine, D. McKey, H.I. Joly (In press) High outcrossing rates in fields with mixed sorghum landraces: How are landraces maintained? Heredity.
  • A. Barnaud, H.I. Joly, D. McKey, M. Deu, C. Khasah, S. Monné, E. Garine (In press) In situ management of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor) genetic resources among Duupa farmers in northern Cameroon: selection and seed exchange. Cahiers Agricultures.
  • F. Sagnard, A. Barnaud, M. Deu et al. (In Press) Multi-scale analysis of sorghum genetic diversity: Understanding the evolutionary processes for in situ conservation.Cahiers Agricultures.
  • A. Barnaud (2007) Knowledge, practices and dynamics of genetic diversity of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor) among Duupa farmers in northern Cameroon. Ph.D. Dissertation. Montpellier II University, France.
  • A. Barnaud, M. Deu, E. Garine, D. McKey, and H.I. Joly (2007) Local genetic diversity of sorghum in a village in northern Cameroon: structure and dynamics of landraces. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 114: 237-248.
  • A. Barnaud, T. Lacombe, and A. Doligez (2006). Linkage disequilibrium in cultivated grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. Theoretical and Applied Genetic, 112:708-716.

Contact details

Adeline Barnaud
Department of Botany and Zoology
Evolutionary Genomics Group
Stellenbosch University
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602
Stellenbosch
South Africa

Email: abarnaud@sun.ac.za