Peter Tiffin
 Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Biology
Ph.D. Duke University, 1999
Plant population genetics, molecular ecology, evolutionary response to
elevated CO2 and other environmental changes, ecology and evolution of plant-herbivore
and plant-microbe interactions
Contact Information
Mailing Address:
Dr. Peter Tiffin
Department of Plant Biology
University of Minnesota
250 Biological Science Center
1445 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108 Office: 314 Biological Sciences Center
Phone: (612) 624-7406
Fax: (612) 625-1738
E-mail: ptiffin@umn.edu
Research Interests
Research in my lab is focused on understanding how biological interactions
and environmental change affect plant evolution. We use a variety of
organisms (including Zea , Clarkia , Arabidopsis , Medicago and Sinorhizobium )
and a variety of molecular and organismal approaches (including molecular population
genetics, greenhouse and field studies, and quantitative genetics). I
am involved currently in a variety of projects investigating i) the molecular
evolution of plant immune system genes, ii) evolutionary responses to elevated
CO 2 concentrations and other environmental changes, and iii) the ecological
and evolutionary limits to species range expansion. I also remain interested
in understanding the ecology and evolution of plant resistance and tolerance
to herbivores and pathogens. For more information, see the lab website
at http://www.cbs.umn.edu/tiffin/
Selected Publications
Tiffin, P. and D. A. Moeller. 2006. Molecular evolution of plant immune
system genes. Trends
in Genetics
Moeller, D. A. and P. Tiffin. 2005. Genetic diversity
and the evolutionary history of plant immunity genes in two species of Zea . Molecular
Biology and Evolution. 22: 2480-2490.
Tiffin, P, R. Hacker, and B. S. Gaut. 2004. Population genetic evidence
for rapid changes in intra-specific diversity and allelic cycling of defense
genes in Zea . Genetic 168: 425-434.
Tiffin, P. 2004. Comparative evolutionary histories of chitinase
genes in the genus Zea and family Poaceae. Genetics
167: 1331-1340.
Tiffin, P. 2002. Competition and time of damage affect the pattern of selection
acting on plant defense against herbivores. Ecology 87: 1981-1990.
Tiffin, P., M. S. Olson, and L. C. Moyle. 2001. The genetics of reproductive
isolation: asymmetric crossing barriers in Angiosperms. The Proceedings of
the Royal Society of London B 268: 861-867.
Tiffin, P. 2000. Are tolerance, avoidance and antibiosis evolutionarily and
ecologically equivalent responses of plants to herbivores? The
American Naturalist 155:128-138.
Tiffin, P. and M. D. Rausher. 1999. Genetic constraints and selection acting
on tolerance to herbivory in the common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea .
The
American Naturalist 154: 700-716.
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