Research summary
Conserving and effectively managing biodiversity in the face of climate change and environmental degradation is one of the greatest challenges facing biologists today. The big question is: How do species respond or adapt to environmental changes?
As Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Mitochondrial Biology, Dr. Sophie Breton is using an innovative approach to address this global challenge. She and her research team are integrating cutting-edge technologies in omics (disciplines such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics and transcriptomics), physiology and cell biology to better understand the importance of mitochondria in promoting adaptation to environmental changes. By unravelling the links between the environment and mitochondrial (epi)genotype-phenotype, they hope to shed new light on our understanding of the living world.