45 experimental evolution sites

90 researchers and 40 institutions, 45 sites, 12 replicate plots per site, ~5 million seeds distributed and sown. This is the start of GrENE-net. A globally distributed experiment to study how the plant species Arabidopsis thaliana may genetically evolve to different climates.

Map of GrENE-net experimental sites (red circles) and the locations of origin of founder genotypes (black points).

The experiments started on fall 2017 and will run at least until 2020! Let’s see how much and whether they evolve in three generations. We expect very strong selection, as the experimental environments span from Israeli desserts to temperate North European forests.

Let the evolution begin!