Claire Whitton

Papers

Total Citations

386

H-Index

About

Claire Whitton is a leading figure in plant evolutionary genomics, with a career distinguished by foundational contributions to genome biology and the study of polyploidy. Her most cited work, the 2004 protocol on generating expressed sequence tags (ESTs), has amassed over 386 citations, serving as a critical methodological resource that enabled researchers to cheaply and efficiently sample the genomes of non-model organisms. This work helped democratize genomic research, allowing scientists to identify genes from a single cDNA sequence. Whitton’s major contributions lie in elucidating the evolutionary consequences of whole-genome duplication, particularly in plants. She has been instrumental in demonstrating how polyploidy drives genetic novelty, alters gene expression, and shapes adaptation. Her research has provided key insights into the dynamic processes that follow genome doubling, including gene loss and functional divergence. Through her rigorous and accessible protocols, coupled with her deep theoretical work on genome evolution, Claire Whitton has profoundly influenced how we understand the origins of genetic complexity and the evolutionary trajectories of flowering plants.