Dr Luke Dunning

School of Biosciences

Senior Research Fellow

Image of Dr. Luke Dunning with a map as a background
Profile picture of Image of Dr. Luke Dunning with a map as a background
l.dunning@sheffield.ac.uk
Profile
  • NERC Independent Research Fellow, University of Sheffield, UK (2020‒present)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sheffield, UK (2015‒2020)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Imperial College London, UK (2013‒2014)
  • PhD, University of Auckland, NZ (2014)
  • MRes in Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK (2008)
  • BSc in Ecology and Environmental Management, Cardiff University, UK (2007)
Research interests

I am an evolutionary biologist interested in understanding how organisms adapt to novel environments by combining cutting-edge genomic techniques, ecological analyses and experimental approaches. Most of my research focuses on rapid adaptation in the grass family, the most economically and ecologically important group of plants.

  1. The evolutionary consequences of lateral gene transfer in grasses.
    Our previous work has shown that lateral gene transfer (LGT) is prevalent in grasses where it is responsible for spreading functional genes of adaptive significance between species. We are building on this work to understand the ecological drivers, evolutionary implications and the mechanisms behind these transfers.
  2. Pan-genome variation and local adaptation in grasses.
    Not all individuals within an species have the same set of genes, and this gene content variation is likely to have important consequences for environmental adaptation. We are currently investigating the evolutionary forces resulting in this mosaic pattern of gene presence, and trying to understand how this variation is distributed at different biological levels.
  3. Adapting to life on the beach
    Dune grasses have convergently evolved to tolerate an ecologically stressful cocktail of drought, salinity, high winds and burial under moving sand. They are also key ecosystem engineers that stabilise and maintain the sand dunes, the most at-risk habitat in Europe. We use genomic techniques and experimental approaches to understand how coastal beach grasses survive in an environment where the sands are literally shifting around them, and how these adaptive traits have evolved over time.  In collaboration with coastal ecologists and coastal engineers, we also aim to determine how genetic variation with a plant can translate to whole landscape changes 
A plant

How our plants have turned into thieves to survive

Scientists have discovered that grasses are able to short cut evolution by taking genes from their neighbours.
Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Journal articles

  • Cavalet-Giorsa E, González-Muñoz A, Athiyannan N, Holden S, Salhi A, Gardener C, Quiroz-Chávez J, Rustamova SM, Elkot AF, Patpour M , Rasheed A et al (2024) . Nature, 633(8031), 848-855.
  • Alenazi AS, Pereira L, Christin P, Osborne CP & Dunning LT (2024) . New Phytologist, 243(5), 1698-1710.
  • Raimondeau P, Bianconi ME, Pereira L, Parisod C, Christin P & Dunning LT (2023) . New Phytologist, 240(5), 2072-2084.
  • Dunning LT, Olofsson JK, Papadopulos AST, Hibdige SGS, Hidalgo O, Leitch IJ, Baleeiro PC, Ntshangase S, Barker N & Jobson RW (2022) . Molecular Ecology.
  • Hibdige SGS, Raimondeau P, Christin PA & Dunning LT (2021) . New Phytologist, 230(6), 2474-2486.
  • Phansopa C, Dunning LT, Reid JD & Christin P-A (2020) . Molecular Biology and Evolution, 37(11), 3094-3104.
  • Dunning LT, Olofsson JK, Parisod C, Choudhury RR, Moreno-Villena JJ, Yang Y, Dionora J, Quick WP, Park M, Bennetzen JL , Besnard G et al (2019) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10), 4416-4425.

All publications

Journal articles

  • Bianconi ME, Osborne CP & Dunning LT (2025) . New Phytologist.
  • Bourne N, Walker-Hale N, Dunning L & Chomicki G (2025) . Genome Biology and Evolution, 17(8).
  • Coates SER, Comeault AA, Wood DP, Fay MF, Creer S, Osborne OG, Dunning LT & Papadopulos AST (2025) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(5).
  • Arthan W, Baker WJ, Barrett MD, Barrett RL, Bennetzen JL, Besnard G, Bianconi ME, Birch JL, Catalán P, Chen W , Christenhusz M et al (2025) . New Phytologist, 245(2), 818-834.
  • Cavalet-Giorsa E, González-Muñoz A, Athiyannan N, Holden S, Salhi A, Gardener C, Quiroz-Chávez J, Rustamova SM, Elkot AF, Patpour M , Rasheed A et al (2024) . Nature, 633(8031), 848-855.
  • Alenazi AS, Pereira L, Christin P, Osborne CP & Dunning LT (2024) . New Phytologist, 243(5), 1698-1710.
  • Jobson RW & Dunning L (2024) . Telopea, 27, 29-40.
  • Sotelo G, Gamboa S, Dunning LT, Christin P & Varela S (2024) . New Phytologist, 242(2), 774-785.
  • Olofsson JK, Tyler T, Dunning LT, Hjertson M, Rühling Ã… & Hansen AJ (2024) . American Journal of Botany, 111(2).
  • Raimondeau P, Bianconi ME, Pereira L, Parisod C, Christin P & Dunning LT (2023) . New Phytologist, 240(5), 2072-2084.
  • Pereira L, Bianconi ME, Osborne CP, Christin P-A & Dunning LT (2023) . Annals of Botany, 132(3), 365-382.
  • Pereira L & Dunning LT (2023) . Plant Physiology, 193(1), 172-173.
  • Alenazi AS, Bianconi ME, Middlemiss E, Milenkovic V, Curran EV, Sotelo G, Lundgren MR, Nyirenda F, Pereira L, Christin P , Dunning LT et al (2023) . Plant, Cell & Environment, 46(8), 2310-2322.
  • Wood DP, Holmberg JA, Osborne OG, Helmstetter AJ, Dunning LT, Ellison AR, Smith RJ, Lighten J & Papadopulos AST (2023) . Nature Ecology and Evolution.
  • Pereira L, Christin P & Dunning LT (2023) . Plants, People, Planet, 5(5), 672-682.
  • Dunning LT, Olofsson JK, Papadopulos AST, Hibdige SGS, Hidalgo O, Leitch IJ, Baleeiro PC, Ntshangase S, Barker N & Jobson RW (2022) . Molecular Ecology.
  • Bianconi ME, Christin P-A & Dunning LT (2022) . Molecular Plant, 15(4), 591-592.
  • Young SNR, Dunning LT, Liu H, Stevens CJ & Lundgren MR (2022) . Journal of Experimental Botany, 73(10), 3189-3204.
  • Bianconi ME, Sotelo G, Curran EV, Milenkovic V, Samaritani E, Dunning LT, Bertolino LT, Osborne CP & Christin P (2022) . Plant, Cell & Environment, 45(5), 1398-1411.
  • Papadopulos AST, Helmstetter AJ, Osborne OG, Comeault AA, Wood DP, Straw EA, Mason L, Fay MF, Parker J, Dunning LT , Foote AD et al (2021) . Molecular Biology and Evolution, 38(9), 3724-3736.
  • Hibdige SGS, Raimondeau P, Christin PA & Dunning LT (2021) . New Phytologist, 230(6), 2474-2486.
  • Olofsson JK, Curran EV, Nyirenda F, Bianconi ME, Dunning LT, Milenkovic V, Sotelo G, Hidalgo O, Powell RF, Lundgren MR , Leitch IJ et al (2021) . Molecular Ecology, 30(9), 2116-2130.
  • Arthan W, Dunning LT, Besnard G, Manzi S, Kellogg EA, Hackel J, Lehmann CER, Mitchley J & Vorontsova MS (2021) . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 196(4), 437-455.
  • Bianconi ME, Dunning LT, Curran EV, Hidalgo O, Powell RF, Mian S, Leitch IJ, Lundgren MR, Manzi S, Vorontsova MS , Besnard G et al (2020) . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1938).
  • Phansopa C, Dunning LT, Reid JD & Christin P-A (2020) . Molecular Biology and Evolution, 37(11), 3094-3104.
  • Dunning LT & Christin P (2020) . American Journal of Botany, 107(4), 541-544.
  • Olofsson JK, Dunning LT, Lundgren MR, Barton HJ, Thompson J, Cuff N, Ariyarathne M, Yakandawala D, Sotelo G, Zeng K , Osborne CP et al (2019) . Current Biology, 29.
  • Papadopulos AST, Igea J, Dunning LT, Osborne OG, Quan X, Pellicer J, Turnbull C, Hutton I, Baker WJ, Butlin RK & Savolainen V (2019) . Evolution, 73(9), 1986-1995.
  • Olofsson JK, Cantera I, Van de Paer C, Hong-Wa C, Zedane L, Dunning LT, Alberti A, Christin P-A & Besnard G (2019) . Molecular Ecology Resources, 19(4), 877-892.
  • Dunning LT, Moreno-Villena JJ, Lundgren MR, Dionora J, Salazar P, Adams C, Nyirenda F, Olofsson JK, Mapaura A, Grundy IM , Kayombo CJ et al (2019) . Journal of Experimental Botany, 70(12), 3255-3268.
  • Dunning LT, Olofsson JK, Parisod C, Choudhury RR, Moreno-Villena JJ, Yang Y, Dionora J, Quick WP, Park M, Bennetzen JL , Besnard G et al (2019) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10), 4416-4425.
  • Lundgren MR, Dunning LT, Olofsson JK, Moreno-Villena JJ, Bouvier JW, Sage TL, Khoshravesh R, Sultmanis S, Stata M, Ripley BS , Vorontsova MS et al (2019) . Ecology Letters, 22(2), 302-312.
  • Wood DP, Olofsson JK, McKenzie SW & Dunning LT (2018) . Botany Letters, 165(3-4), 476-486.
  • Bianconi ME, Dunning LT, Moreno-Villena JJ, Osborne CP & Christin P-A (2018) . Journal of Experimental Botany, 69(8), 1967-1980.
  • Moreno-Villena JJ, Dunning LT, Osborne CP & Christin P-A (2018) . Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35(1), 94-106.
  • Dunning LT, Liabot AL, Olofsson JK, Smith EK, Vorontsova MS, Besnard G, Simpson KJ, Lundgren MR, Addicott E, Gallagher RV , Chu Y et al (2017) . Botany Letters, 164(4), 327-337.
  • Dunning LT, Lundgren MR, Moreno-Villena JJ, Namaganda M, Edwards EJ, Nosil P, Osborne CP & Christin P-A (2017) . Evolution, 71(6), 1541-1555.
  • Olofsson JK, Bianconi M, Besnard G, Dunning LT, Lundgren MR, Holota H, Vorontsova MS, Hidalgo O, Leitch IJ, Nosil P , Osborne CP et al (2016) . Molecular Ecology, 25(24), 6107-6123.
  • Ciezarek AG, Dunning LT, Jones CS, Noble LR, Humble E, Stefanni SS & Savolainen V (2016) . Genome Biology and Evolution, 8(9), 3011-3021.
  • Dunning LT, Hipperson H, Baker WJ, Butlin RK, Devaux C, Hutton I, Igea J, Papadopulos AST, Quan X, Smadja CM , Turnbull CGN et al (2016) . Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
  • Hipperson H, Dunning LT, Baker WJ, Butlin RK, Hutton I, Papadopulos AST, Smadja CM, Wilson TC, Devaux C & Savolainen V (2016) . Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
  • Swift DG, Dunning LT, Igea J, Brooks EJ, Jones CS, Noble LR, Ciezarek A, Humble E & Savolainen V (2016) . BMC Evolutionary Biology, 16(1).
  • Dennis AB, Dunning LT, Sinclair BJ & Buckley TR (2015) . Scientific Reports, 5.
  • Cornetti L, Valente LM, Dunning LT, Quan X, Black RA, Hebert O & Savolainen V (2015) . Genome Biology and Evolution, 7(9), 2680-2691.
  • Papadopulos AST, Kaye M, Devaux C, Hipperson H, Lighten J, Dunning LT, Hutton I, Baker WJ, Butlin RK & Savolainen V (2014) . Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences, 369(1648).
  • Dunning LT, Dennis AB, Sinclair BJ, Newcomb RD & Buckley TR (2014) . Molecular Ecology, 23(11), 2712-2726.
  • Dennis AB, Dunning LT, Dennis CJ, Sinclair BJ & Buckley TR (2014) . New Zealand Entomologist, 37(1), 35-44.
  • Dunning LT, Dennis AB, Thomson G, Sinclair BJ, Newcomb RD & Buckley TR (2013) . BMC Evolutionary Biology, 13.
  • Dunning LT, Dennis AB, Park D, Sinclair BJ, Newcomb RD & Buckley TR (2013) . Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics, 8(1), 24-31.
  • Baraloto C, Hardy OJ, Paine CET, Dexter KG, Cruaud C, Dunning LT, Gonzalez M, Molino J, Sabatier D, Savolainen V & Chave J (2012) . Journal of Ecology, 100(3), 690-701.
  • DUNNING LT & SAVOLAINEN V () . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 164(1), 1-9.

Book chapters

  • Ramstad KM & Dunning LT (2020) , Population Genomics (pp. 493-521). Springer International Publishing

Preprints

  • Pereira L, Alenazi AS, Mian S, Leitch IJ, Christin P-A, Osborne CP & Dunning LT (2025) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Gautrey SL, Dunning LT, Gossmann TI & Simons MJP (2025) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Osborne OG, Wood DP, Dobreva MP, Dunning LT, Tucker R, Coates SER, Pellicer J, Holmberg J, Algar AC, Bocedi G , Gubry-Rangin C et al (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Arthan W, Baker WJ, Barrett MD, Barrett RL, Bennetzen J, Besnard G, Bianconi ME, Birch JL, Catalán P, Chen W , Christenhusz M et al (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Coates SER, Comeault AA, Wood DP, Fay MF, Creer S, Osborne OG, Dunning LT & Papadopulos AST (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Cavalet-Giorsa E, González-Muñoz A, Athiyannan N, Holden S, Salhi A, Gardener C, Quiroz-Chávez J, Rustamova SM, Elkot AF, Patpour M , Rasheed A et al (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Raimondeau P, Bianconi ME, Pereira L, Parisod C, Christin P-A & Dunning LT (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Olofsson J, Tyler T, Dunning L, Hjertson M, Rühling Ã… & Hansen A (2022) , Wiley.
  • Wood DP, Holmberg JA, Osborne OG, Helmstetter AJ, Dunning LT, Ellison AR, Smith RJ, Lighten J & Papadopulos AST (2021) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Dunning LT, Oloffson JK, Papadopulos AST, Baleeiro PC, Ntshangase S, Barker N & Jobson RW (2021) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Bianconi ME, Sotelo G, Curran EV, Milenkovic V, Samaritani E, Dunning LT, Bertolino LT, Osborne CP & Christin P-A (2021) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • Olofsson J, Curran E, Nyirenda F, Bianconi M, Dunning L, Milenkovic V, Sotelo G, Hidalgo O, Powell R, Lundgren M , Leitch IJ et al (2020) , Wiley.
  • Papadopulos AST, Helmstetter AJ, Osborne OG, Comeault AA, Wood DP, Straw EA, Mason L, Fay MF, Parker J, Dunning LT , Foote AD et al (2020) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Research group

Postdoctoral Research Associates:

  • Dr Lara Pereira
  • Dr Emma Curran
  • Dr William Brightly (NSF fellow - Co-supervised)
Technicians:
  • Dr Emily Bailes
PhD Students:
  • Catherine Collins
  • George Hirons-Alecrim
  • Noah Bourne
  • Emily Baker
  • Ghadah Fhaid (Co-supervised)
  • Violette Pepper (Co-supervised)
  • Rafaela Stagiopoulou (Co-supervised)

Masters Students:

  • Harvey Jeffrey (MBiolSci)

Links