Research Interests and Recent Publications
My primary research interests have centered on the population genetics and ecology of invasive plant species. I have been working on questions relating to the role of gene flow in the continued success of plant colonizers and weeds. I am intrigued by the idea of addressing basic evolutionary and ecological questions with applied systems. The majority of my recent publications have addressed consequences of escape of engineered genes into wild/weedy plant populations.
I am currently involved in two projects, and developing a proposal for a
third. The first project is a survey of the population genetic structure of the
noxious weed Sorghum halepense, "johnsongrass," using starch gel electrophoresis of isozymes. The project is an extension of work I began
during my doctoral studies. The goal of the project is to describe the genetic
structure of a noxious weed over its global distribution, and examine the
relationships between source populations from Eurasia, and colonial areas in
North and
I have begun to work with a colleague in the math department to try to build a model I have conceived into a viable tool for genetic risk assessment. I believe that the adaptation of his model for cancer spread coupled with data that I have on the mating success of sorghum will be sufficient to incorporate into a risk assessment tool that has not been considered before. The model is centered on the predicting the movement of pollen from a crop field to the random position of suitable wild relatives (mates) in the landscape. Ideally the model will take into account not only the distance between the source and recipient populations, but also the position of the target plants, degree of sexual compatibility, degree of relatedness between the plants, and pollen load in the wind.
Recent
Publications
Marsh, T. L., and P. E. Arriola 2009. The science of salsa: Antimicrobial properties of salsa
components to learn scientific methodology. Journal of
Microbiology and Biology Education. 5(10): 3-8.
Arriola, P. E. 2005. Gene Flow, hybridization, and introgression: definitions and
explanations. In: Gene flow and germplasm management. Topical Reviews in Agricultural Biodiversity
M Carmen de Vicente [ed.] International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
(IPGRI),
Arriola,
P. E., and Hilbeck, A. 2003. Gene flow and its consequences between
transgenic and feral maize in
Arriola, P. E., 2002. All in the Genes. The Chemical Engineer. 731(5):
30-31.
Arriola,
P. E. and N. C. Ellstrand.
2002. Gene flow and hybrid
fitness in the Sorghum bicolor - Sorghum halepense complex. Proceedings Scientific Methods
Workshop: Ecological and agronomic consequences of gene flow from transgenic
crops to wild relatives.
Arriola, P.
E. 2000. Crop to wild gene flow and
risks of wide-scale release of transgenic Zea mays in
Arriola, P. E.
(1998) New directions for risk assessment for
biotechnology. Debate on the increasing use of genetic
engineering in food production. Nature On-Line http://helix.nature.com/debates/
Arriola, P. E. 1997. Risks of escape and spread of engineered genes from transgenic crops to wild relatives. AgBiotech News and Information 9(7): 157N-160N.
Arriola, P. E., and N. C. Ellstrand. 1997. Fitness of interspecific hybrids in the genus Sorghum: persistence of crop genes in wild populations. Ecological Applications 7(2): 512-518.
Arriola, P. E., and N. C. Ellstrand.
1996. Crop-to-weed gene flow in the genus Sorghum (Poaceae):
spontaneous interspecific hybridization between johnsongrass,
Sorghum halepense, and crop sorghum,
S. bicolor. American Journal of Botany 83(9): 1153-1160.