Number of self-incompatibility alleles in finite populations (together with Sylvain Billiard)
We revisit and reanalyze with modern stochastic techniques a model proposed by Wright to study the number of self-incompatibility alleles in finite plant populations. We find a new explicit expression for the stationary frequency distribution of self-incompatibility alleles, derive the model from first principles and study the invasion behavior of a new self-incompatibility allele. Lastly, we also outline how to use the new results to estimate the number of self-incompatibility alleles and the population size from a data sample.
Publication: Revisiting the number of self-incompatibility alleles in finite populations: from old models to new results, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2022 (view online)

Mating type dynamics (together with Dave Rogers and George Constable)
Self-incompatible mating types are (more or less) the norm in the fungal world and also observed in various other species (e.g. Tetrahymena thermophila or Dictyostelium discoideum). Often there do not only exist 2 mating types but there can be up to hundreds or thousands. A simple question to ask is: Given a finite population of N individuals, each carrying a certain self-incompatible mating type, how many mating types do we expect to see in the population on average? Quantifying genetic drift and balancing selection we found estimates for this value when emergence of new mating types is rare. Other interesting quantities are the invasion probability of a new mating type, the impact of the asexual reproduction cycle, or the mean time to extinction of a resident mating type allele.
Publications:
Evolution of mating types in finite populations: the precarious advantage of being rare, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2019 (view online)
Invasion and extinction dynamics of mating types under facultative sexual reproduction, Genetics, 2019 (view online) (preprint)