28 July 2023
Dr Paul Wilkin
Head of Ecosystem Stewardship
Department
My current role is to lead and drive forward Kew’s science and conservation via helping to deliver its science and collections strategies. In so doing I will strengthen its position as a global resource for plant and fungal knowledge, and promote plant and fungal-based solutions to current global challenges.
My personal research is primarily on the tuberous yams (Dioscorea), and Enset (Ensete). Yams provides both dietary starch for millions and secondary compounds of considerable economic importance. Enset is a key starch staple for 20 million people in southern Ethiopia, as well as providing a broad range of further ecosystem services and having the potential to be a climate smart crop with a major role in the future of Africa. Approaches encompass taxonomy, systematics, conservation and metabolomics, including phylogenomic and population genetics to investigate crop, crop wild relative and edible/wild yam diversity with a view to improved livelihoods and economic innovation.
- BA, Natural Sciences, Cambridge, 1987
- MSc, Pure & Applied Plant Taxonomy, Univ. Reading, 1988
- PhD, Univ. Reading, 1993.
- Member of Palynology Specialist Group, Linnaean Society
- Council & Newsletter Editor, Systematics Association (2002-2005)
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Evolutionary dynamics of vegetative agriculture in the Ethiopian Highlands
Integrating archaeobotanical and genomic science to address food security and climate change.
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Sustainable yam markets for conservation and food security in Madagascar
Increasing incomes and enhancing nutrition from wild and cultivated Malagasy yams to enhance livelihoods for rural communities and conserve wild yam species threatened by over-harvesting and habitat loss
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Yams of West and South West Ethiopia
Conserving yam agrobiodiversity and associated indigenous knowledge for Ethiopia’s future.
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Madagascar yam conservation for livelihoods
Conserving Madagascar’s edible wild yams through cultivation to enhance livelihoods and food security.
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Modelling and genomics resources to enhance exploitation of the sustainable and diverse Ethiopian starch crop Enset and support livelihoods
Towards developing a resilient Ethiopian crop into a key resource for the future in both its home country and the rest of Africa.
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Landscape Ecology Programme: Nature Unlocked at Wakehurst
Connecting Wakehurst’s landscape, science, and visitors to research the value of nature for people, agriculture, and the environment.
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World Forest ID
Building the world’s largest geo-referenced, open source, forest sample collection to tackle fraud, illegal logging and deforestation
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Productive Pasture Partnership
Native grass forage management to feed people and protect forests
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Biodiversity protection using badges and yam plantations
Supporting community livelihoods and protecting biodiversity on the Montagne des Francais Protected area via tuber-based agriculture and wild yam collector registration.
Filloux, D., Murrell, S., Koohapitagtam, M., Golden, M., Julian, C., Galzi, S., Uzest, M., Rodier-Goud, M., D'Hont, A., Vernerey, M.S., Wilkin, P., Peterschmitt, M., Winter, S., Murrell, B., Martin, D.P. & Roumagnac, P. (2015)
The genomes of many yam species contain transcriptionally active endogenous geminiviral sequences that may be functionally expressed.
Virus Evolution 2015 1 (1): vev002.
Viruel, J., Segarra-Moragues, J., Raz, L., Forest, F., Wilkin, P., Sanmartín, I & Catalán, P. (2016)
Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene origin of yams (Dioscorea, Dioscoreaceae) in the Laurasian Palaearctic and their subsequent Oligocene–Miocene diversification.
Journal of Biogeography 43: 750–762.
Price, E.J., Wilkin, P., Sarasan, V. & Fraser, P.D. (2016)
Metabolite profiling of Dioscorea(yam) species reveals underutilised biodiversity and renewable sources for high-value compounds.
Scientific Reports 6:29136.
Maurin, O., Muasya, A.M., Catalan, P., Shongwe, E.Z., Viruel, J., Wilkin, P. & van der Bank, M. (2016)
Diversification into novel habitats in the Africa clade of Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae): erect habit and elephant’s foot tubers.
BMC Evolutionary Biology 16: 238.
Viruel, J., Forest, F., Paun, O., Chase, M.W., Devey, D., Couto, R.S., Segarra-Moragues, J.G., Catalan, P. & Wilkin, P. (2018)
A nuclear Xdh phylogenetic analysis of yams (Dioscorea, Dioscoreaceae) congruent with plastid trees reveals a new Neotropical lineage.
Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 187: 232–246.
