Department Environmental Toxicology

Genetic diversity describes variation at the DNA level within a species. While a crucial part of biodiversity protection, within-species genetic diversity is under-considered compared to across-species genetic diversity. The impacts of chemical pollution on genetic diversity are even less understood.

This project is part of the TerraChem Horizon Europe project: From soils to apex species: chemical pathways, effects and impacts on terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services for better chemicals management. The overall goal of the TerraChem project is to develop and apply a holistic approach integrating monitoring, environmental modelling, data management, analytical tools and user guidance to better understand exposure of terrestrial biota to anthropogenic chemicals and their damage on terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services. As part of the modelling work package (2), we aim to characterize chemical impacts on terrestrial genetic diversity.

There are too many different chemicals, species, and populations to assess all chemical impacts on genetic diversity using field or lab-based methods. To address this challenge, our group uses data-driven analysis and predictive modelling to describe the potential for chemical pollution to impact genetically diverse populations. This includes cross-linking disparate datasets to identify specific genetic regions of greater susceptibility to chemical pollution in different species, differentiating genetically susceptible pathways unique to and common across species, and characterizing spatial differences in genetic diversity across Europe.