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Anna Fijarczyk, PhD 

Research associate / Evolutionary genomics
e-mail: anna.fijarczyk.1 [at] ulaval.ca

Biography

I use genomics and bioinformatics to study the evolution of fungi and other species. I am particularly interested in molecular mechanisms of adaptation to new environments. My background is in population genetics, and I received my PhD from Jagiellonian University, where I focused on phylogeographic reconstruction of amphibian species migration. I later moved to the Institute of Environmental Sciences in Krakow, Poland, for a postdoc, to study how gene flow and balancing selection shape the genetic diversity of immune genes in closely related species.

 

Research interests

In 2017, I joined the Landry Lab, where I developed a strong interest in fungi and began working across several areas of fungal genomics:

    1. Investigating the role of hybridization in the emergence of fungal pathogens (Ophiostoma sp.) that cause Dutch Elm Disease (part of the Genome Canada bioSAFE project).
    2. Investigating hybrid speciation and mutation rates in wild yeast Saccharomyces paradoxus.
    3. Studying the evolution of genome size and complexity in fungal pathogens.
    4. Detecting and predicting antifungal resistance in Candida albicans from clinical samples (Genome Canada GAPP project).

Publications

Durand R, Jalbert-Ross J, Fijarczyk A, Dubé AK, and Landry CR. Cross-feeding affects the target of resistance evolution to an anti-fungal drug. PLOS Genetics 19(10): e1011002 (2023)
Konopinski MK, Fijarczyk A, Biedrzycka A. Complex patterns shape immune gene diversity during invasion of common raccoon in Europe — Selection in action despite genetic drift. Evolutonary Applications 16 (1), 134-151 (2023)
Fijarczyk A, Bernier L, Sakalidis ML, Medina-Mora CM, & Porth I. Independent evolution had led to distinct genomic signatures in Dutch elm disease-causing fungi and other vascular wilts-causing fungal pathogens. Journal of Fungi 9 (1), 2; (2022)
Biedrzycka A, Fijarczyk A, Kloch A, & Porth I. Genomic basis of adaptations to new environments in expansive and invasive species. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10, 974649; (2022)
Fijarczyk A, Hénault M, Marsit S, Charron G, & Landry CR. Heterogeneous mutants and spectra in yeast hybrids. Genome Biology and Evolution evab282 (2021)
Marsit S, Hénault M, Charron G, Fijarczyk A, & Landry CR. The neutral rate of whole-genome duplication varies among yeast species and their hybrids. Nature Communications 12, 3126 (2021)
Fijarczyk A, Hénault M, Marsit S, Charron G, Fischborn T, Nicole-Labrie L, & Landry CR. The genome sequence of the Jean-Talon strain, an archeological tetraploid beer yeast from Québec. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 10 (9), 3087-3097 (2020)
Hallin J, Cisneros AF, Hénault M, Fijarczyk A, Dandage R, Bautista C, & Landry CR.  Similarities in biological processes can be used to bridge ecology and molecular biology. Evolutionary Applications 13 (6), 1335-1350 (2020)
Fijarczyk A*, Hessenauer P*, Martin H, Prunier J, Charron G, Chapuis J, Bernier L, Tanguay P, Hamelin RC & Landry CR. Hybridization and introgression drive genome evolution of Dutch elm disease pathogens. Nat Ecol Evol 4 (4), 626-638 (2020)
Eberlein C*, Hénault M*, Fijarczyk A, Charron G, Bouvier M, Kohn LM, Anderson JB, & Landry CR. Hybridization is a recurrent evolutionary stimulus in wild yeast speciation. Nature Communications 10 (1), 1-14 (2019)
Fijarczyk A, Dudek K, Niedzicka M & Babik W, Balancing selection and introgression of newt immune-response genes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285:20180819 (2018)
Niedzicka M, Dudek K, Fijarczyk A, Zieliński P & Babik W, Linkage map of Lissotriton newts provides insight into the genetic basis of reproductive isolation. G3: Genes, genomes, Genetics 7:2115-2124 (2017)
Fijarczyk A, Dudek K & Babik W, Selective landscapes in newt immune genes. Genome Biology and Evolution 8:3417-3432 (2016)
Nürnberger B, Lohse K, Fijarczyk A, Szymura JM & Blaxter ML, Para-allopatry in hybridising fire-bellied toads (Bombina bombina and B. variegata): Inference from transcriptome-wide coalescence analyses. Evolution 8:1803–1818 (2016)
Niedzicka M, Fijarczyk A, Dudek K, Stuglik M & Babik W, Molecular Inversion Probes for targeted resequencing in non-model organisms. Scientific Reports 6:24051 (2016)
Fijarczyk A & Babik W, Detecting balancing selection in genomes: limits and prospects. Molecular Ecology 24:3529–3545 (2015)
Babik W, Dudek K, Fijarczyk A, Pabijan M, Stuglik M, Szkotak R & Zieliński P, Constraint and adaptation in newt Toll-like receptor genes. Genome Biology and Evolution 7:81–95 (2015)
Elgvin TO, Hermansen JS, Fijarczyk A, Bonnet T, Borge T, Sæther SA, Voje KL & Sætre G-P, Hybrid speciation in sparrows II: a role for sex chromosomes? Molecular Ecology 20:3823–3837 (2011)
Fijarczyk A, Nadachowska K, Hofman S, Litvinchuk SN, Babik W, Stuglik M, Gollmann G, Choleva L, Cogălniceanu D, Vukov T, Džukić G & Szymura JM, Nuclear and mitochondrial phylogeography of the European fire-bellied toads Bombina bombina and Bombina variegata supports their independent histories. Molecular Ecology 20:3381–3398 (2011)
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