A framework for community and ecosystem genetics: from genes to ecosystems
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
Published on: December 7, 2021
Thomas G Whitham1, Joseph K Bailey, Jennifer A Schweitzer
1Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA. Thomas.Whitham@nau.edu
Abstract:
Can heritable traits in a single species affect an entire ecosystem? Recent studies show that such traits in a common tree have predictable effects on community structure and ecosystem processes. Because these 'community and ecosystem phenotypes' have a genetic basis and are heritable, we can begin to apply the principles of population and quantitative genetics to place the study of complex communities and ecosystems within an evolutionary framework. This framework could allow us to understand, for the first time, the genetic basis of ecosystem processes, and the effect of such phenomena as climate change and introduced transgenic organisms on entire communities.
Related Concept Videos
What is Population Genetics?
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Genetics of Speciation
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

