Skip to main content

Thomas Mitchell-Olds

Newman Ivey White Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology
Biology
Duke Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
French Science Center 3101, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


We study genetic variation in plant populations, focusing on genes that influence traits controlling plant performance in an environmental context – a central theme throughout our research in natural and agricultural populations. Much of our work is focused on the genes that affect ecological success and evolutionary fitness in natural environments. Similarly, the interaction of crop plants with their biotic and abiotic environments is controlled by complex trait variation which can be elucidated by interdisciplinary analyses incorporating functional genomics, physiological and chemical ecology, and population and quantitative genetics. We work at several levels: genetic variation within populations, local adaptation among populations, and the evolution of species differences. Our study systems are centered on the wild relatives of Arabidopsis, as well as complex trait variation of rice in Asia and Africa.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Newman Ivey White Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology · 2024 - Present Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emeritus of Biology · 2024 - Present Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published November 21, 2017
Three Faculty Elected Fellows of AAAS
Published April 24, 2017
Where Some Ski, Others Do Science
Published July 14, 2016
Disentangling the plant microbiome

View All News

Recent Publications


Increasing Aridity May Threaten the Maintenance of a Plant Defence Polymorphism.

Journal Article Ecology letters · January 2025 It is unclear how environmental change influences standing genetic variation in wild populations. Here, we characterised environmental conditions that protect versus erode polymorphic chemical defences in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a short-lived pere ... Full text Cite

Soil variation among natural habitats alters glucosinolate content in a wild perennial mustard.

Journal Article Journal of experimental botany · March 2023 Baseline levels of glucosinolates-important defensive phytochemicals in brassicaceous plants-are determined by both genotype and environment. However, the ecological causes of glucosinolate plasticity are not well characterized. Fertilization is known to a ... Full text Cite

Are genetic variation and demographic performance linked?

Journal Article Evolutionary applications · November 2022 Quantifying relationships between genetic variation and population viability is important from both basic biological and applied conservation perspectives, yet few populations have been monitored with both long-term demographic and population genetics appr ... Full text Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants


Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2005 - 2021

DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Genetic Effects of Plant Defense on Above- and Below-ground Ecological Interactions and Natural Selection

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2017 - 2021

Genetics Training Grant

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1979 - 2020

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications


University of Wisconsin, Madison · 1985 Ph.D.
Earlham College · 1978 B.A.