Natasha M. Glover

I obtained my Bachelor of Science and PhD from the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Science at Virginia Tech in the U.S. My PhD was focused on plant genomics and biotechnology. Specifically, I used QTL mapping in soybean to find genes and causative mutations associated with phytate, an agronomically important trait. I received a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship for my first postdoc and worked in Clermont-Ferrand, France at the Institut Nationale de la Recherche Agronomique for 3 years. There, I concentrated on computational biology, with a focus on synteny and duplication in the wheat genome. After, I completed a postdoc at Bayer CropScience in Gent, Belgium as part of the Marie Curie PLANT FELLOWS program.

I am a currently a research scientist for the Swiss Insitute of Bioinformatics, based at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland in the Department of Computational Biology and the Center for Integrative Genomics. Here, my main topics are orthology and homeology inference in various plant species.

With my past education at Virginia Tech and my more recent postdoc experiences in Europe, I’ve gone from Plant Breeding to Genetics to Genomics to Evolutionary Biology. I’ve had the opportunity to work in the lab, field, and greenhouse— but now I’ve firmly settled in front of my computer as a computational biologist. The one common theme holding all these past experiences together is my main interest: plant genomes, and how we can ultimately improve agriculture and food production.


Research Interests

  • orthology inference
  • comparative genomics
  • polyploid genomes and homeologous relationships
  • genome analysis of plant genomes
  • gene duplication and movement
  • synteny

Teaching Experience

  • Guest lecturer at University of Lausanne, Reviews in Quantitative Biology (Nov 2018, Nov 2019, Nov 2020)
  • Teaching Assistant for “Sequence a Genome (SAGE)” for the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne (Spring, part II Spring 2017, parts I and II Fall 2017-Spring 2021)
  • Teaching Assistant for Environmental Science in the department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech (Spring, 2007)
  • Guest lecturer at University Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand (Nov 2013)
  • Guest lecturer at Institut Universitaire de Technologie (Mar 2014)

Science Communication


Publications

  1. Homoeolog inference methods requiring bidirectional best hits or synteny miss many pairs. Natasha Glover, Shaoline Sheppard, Christophe Dessimoz. Genome Biology and Evolution. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evab077
  2. Ten years of collaborative progress in the Quest for Orthologs. Benjamin Linard, Ingo Ebersberger, Shawn Mcglynn, Natasha Glover, Tomohiro Mochizuki, Mateus Patricio, Odile Lecompte, Yannis Nevers, Paul Thomas, Toni Gabaldón, Erik Sonnhammer, Christophe Dessimoz, Ikuo Uchiyama. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab098
  3. Gene duplication and gain in the trematode Atriophallophorus winterbourni​ contributes to adaptation to parasitism. Natalia Zajac​, Stefan Zoller​​, Katri Seppälä​​, Jukka Jokela​, Christophe Dessimoz​,​ Hanna Hartikainen​​, Natasha Glover​. Genome Biology and Evolution. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evab010
  4. OMA orthology in 2021: website overhaul, conserved isoforms, ancestral gene order and more. Adrian M Altenhoff, Clément-Marie Train, Kimberly J Gilbert, Ishita Mediratta, Tarcisio Mendes de Farias, David Moi, Yannis Nevers, Hale-Seda Radoykova, Victor Rossier, Alex Warwick Vesztrocy, Natasha M Glover, Christophe Dessimoz. Nucleic acids research. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa1007
  5. The Quest for Orthologs benchmark service and consensus calls in 2020. Adrian M Altenhoff, Javier Garrayo-Ventas, Salvatore Cosentino, David Emms, Natasha M Glover, Ana Hernández-Plaza, Yannis Nevers, Vicky Sundesha, Damian Szklarczyk, José M Fernández, Laia Codó, the Quest for Orthologs Consortium, Josep Ll Gelpi, Jaime Huerta-Cepas, Wataru Iwasaki, Steven Kelly, Odile Lecompte, Matthieu Muffato, Maria J Martin, Salvador Capella-Gutierrez, Paul D Thomas, Erik Sonnhammer, Christophe Dessimoz. Nucleic acids research. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa308
  6. Genetic interactions regulating seed phytate and oligosaccharides in soybean (Glycine max L.). Neelam R. Redekar*, Natasha M. Glover * (*co-first authors), Ruslan M. Biyashev, Bo-Keun Ha, Victor Raboy, M. A. Saghai Maroof. PLOS One. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235120
  7. Making the most of genomic data with OMA. (Editorial). Natasha M. Glover. F1000 Research. 2020. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24904.1
  8. How to build phylogenetic species trees with OMA [version 1: awaiting peer review]. Dylus D, Nevers Y, Altenhoff AM, Antoine Gürtler, Christophe Dessimoz, Natasha M. Glover. F1000Research. 2020; 9: 511. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.23790.1
  9. The Quest for Orthologs benchmark service and consensus calls in 2020. Adrian M Altenhoff, Javier Garrayo-Ventas, Salvatore Cosentino, David Emms, Natasha M Glover, Ana Hernández-Plaza, Yannis Nevers, Vicky Sundesha, Damian Szklarczyk, José M Fernández, Laia Codó, Josep Ll Gelpi, Jaime Huerta-Cepas, Wataru Iwasaki, Steven Kelly, Odile Lecompte, Matthieu Muffato, Maria J Martin, Salvador Capella-Gutierrez, Paul D Thomas, Erik Sonnhammer, Christophe Dessimoz, Quest for Orthologs Consortium. Nucleic Acids Research. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa308
  10. Identifying Orthologs with OMA: A Primer. Monique Zahn-Zabal, Christophe Dessimoz, Natasha Glover. F1000 Research. 2020
  11. Advances and Applications in the Quest for Orthologs. Natasha Glover, Christophe Dessimoz, Ingo Ebersberger, Sofia K Forslund, Toni Gabaldón, Jaime Huerta-Cepas, Maria-Jesus Martin, Matthieu Muffato, Mateus Patricio, Cécile Pereira, Alan Sousa da Silva, Yan Wang, Quest for Orthologs Consortium Erik Sonnhammer, Paul D Thomas. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz150
  12. OMA standalone: orthology inference among public and custom genomes and transcriptomes. Adrian M Altenhoff, Jeremy Levy, Magdalena Zarowiecki, Bartłomiej Tomiczek, Alex Warwick Vesztrocy, Daniel A Dalquen, Steven Müller, Maximilian J Telford, Natasha M Glover, David Dylus, Christophe Dessimoz. Genome Research. 2019. doi:10.1101/gr.243212.118
  13. Genomic changes underlying host specialization in the bee gut symbiont Lactobacillus Firm5. Kirsten M Ellegaard, Silvia Brochet, German Bonilla‐Rosso, Olivier Emery, Natasha Glover, Noushin Hadadi, Kamil S Jaron, Jan R van der Meer, Marc Robinson‐Rechavi, Vladimir Sentchilo, Florian Tagini, SAGE class 2016-17, Philipp Engel. Molecular ecology. 2019. DOI: 10.1111/mec.15075
  14. Assigning confidence scores to homoeologs using fuzzy logic. Natasha M Glover, Adrian Altenhoff, Christophe Dessimoz. PeerJ. 2019. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6231
  15. Inferring orthology and paralogy. Adrian M Altenhoff*, Natasha M Glover * (*co-first authors), Christophe Dessimoz. 2019. In: Anisimova M. (eds) Evolutionary Genomics. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1910. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9074-0_5
  16. The OMA orthology database in 2018: retrieving evolutionary relationships among all domains of life through richer web and programmatic interfaces. Adrian M Altenhoff, Natasha M Glover, Clément-Marie Train, Klara Kaleb, Alex Warwick Vesztrocy, David Dylus, Tarcisio M de Farias, Karina Zile, Charles Stevenson, Jiao Long, Henning Redestig, Gaston H Gonnet, Christophe Dessimoz. Nucleic Acids Research. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkx1019
  17. Orthologous Matrix (OMA) algorithm 2.0: more robust to asymmetric evolutionary rates and more scalable hierarchical orthologous group inference. Clément Marie Train, Natasha Glover, Gaston Gonnet, Adrian Altenhoff, Christophe Dessimoz. Bioinformatics. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btx229
  18. A Pragmatic Approach to Getting Published: 35 Tips for Early Career Researchers. Frontiers in Plant Science. Natasha M. Glover, Ioanna Antoniadi, Gavin M. George, Lars Götzenberger, Ruben Gutzat, Kadri Koorem, Pierre Liancourt, Kinga Rutowicz, Krishna Saharan, Wanhui You and Philipp Mayer. 2016. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00610
  19. Homoeologs: What Are They and How Do We Infer Them? Natasha M. Glover, Henning Redestig, Christophe Dessimoz. Trends in Plant Science. 2016. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2016.02.005
  20. Small-scale gene duplications played a major role in the recent evolution of wheat chromosome 3B. Natasha M. Glover, Josquin Daron, Lise Pingault, Klaas Vandepoele, Etienne Paux, Catherine Feuillet, Frédéric Choulet. Genome Biology. 2015. doi: 10.1186/s13059-015-0754-6
  21. Deep transcriptome sequencing provides new insights into the structural and functional organization of the wheat genome. Lise Pingault, Frédéric Choulet, Adriana Alberti, Natasha Glover, Patrick Wincker, Catherine Feuillet, Etienne Paux. Genome Biology. 2015. doi: 10.1186/s13059-015-0601-9
  22. Organization and Evolution of Transposable Elements along the Wheat Chromosome 3B. Josquin Daron, Natasha Glover, Lise Pingault, Sébastien Theil, Véronique Jamilloux, Etienne Paux, Valérie Barbe, Sophie Mangenot, Adriana Alberti, Patrick Wincker, Hadi Quesneville, Catherine Feuillet, Frédéric Choulet. Genome Biology. 2014. doi:10.1186/s13059-014-0546-4
  23. The OMA orthology database in 2015: function predictions, better plant support, synteny view and other improvements. Adrian M Altenhoff, Nives Škunca, Natasha Glover, Clément-Marie Train, Anna Sueki, Ivana Piližota, Kevin Gori, Bartlomiej Tomiczek, Steven Müller, Henning Redestig, Gaston H Gonnet, Christophe Dessimoz. Nucleic Acids Research. 2014. doi: 10.1093/nar/gku1158
  24. Structural and functional partitioning of bread wheat chromosome 3B. Frédéric Choulet, Adriana Alberti, Sébastien Theil, Natasha Glover, Valérie Barbe, Josquin Daron, Lise Pingault, Pierre Sourdille, Arnaud Couloux, Etienne Paux, Philippe Leroy, Sophie Mangenot, Nicolas Guilhot, Jacques Le Gouis, Francois Balfourier, Michael Alaux, Véronique Jamilloux, Julie Poulain, Céline Durand, Arnaud Bellec, Christine Gaspin, Jan Safar, Jaroslav Dolezel, Jane Rogers, Klaas Vandepoele, Jean-Marc Aury, Klaus Mayer, Hélène Berges, Hadi Quesneville, Patrick Wincker, Catherine Feuillet. Science. 2014. DOI: 10.1126/science.1249721
  25. A chromosome-based draft sequence of the hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genome. The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium. Science. 2014. DOI: 10.1126/science.1251788
  26. Meiotic gene evolution: can you teach a new dog new tricks? Andrew H Lloyd, Marion Ranoux, Sonia Vautrin, Natasha Glover, Joelle Fourment, Delphine Charif, Frederic Choulet, Gilles Lassalle, William Marande, Joseph Tran, Fabienne Granier, Lise Pingault, Arnaud Remay, Catherine Marquis, Harry Belcram, Boulos Chalhoub, Catherine Feuillet, Hélène Bergès, Pierre Sourdille, Eric Jenczewski. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2014. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msu119
  27. Genetic Basis of the Low Phytate Trait in the Soybean Line CX1834. MA Saghai Maroof, Natasha M Glover, Ruslan M Biyashev, Glenn R Buss, Elizabeth A Grabau. Crop Science. 2009. doi:10.2135/cropsci2008.06.0362
  28. Replication of nonautonomous retroelements in soybean appears to be both recent and common. Adam Wawrzynski, Tom Ashfield, Nicolas WG Chen, Jafar Mammadov, Ashley Nguyen, Ram Podicheti, Steven B Cannon, Vincent Thareau, Carine Ameline-Torregrosa, Ethalinda Cannon, Ben Chacko, Arnaud Couloux, Anita Dalwani, Roxanne Denny, Shweta Deshpande, Ashley N Egan, Natasha Glover, Stacy Howell, Dan Ilut, Hongshing Lai, Sara Martin del Campo, Michelle Metcalf, Majesta O’Bleness, Bernard E Pfeil, Milind B Ratnaparkhe, Sylvie Samain, Iryna Sanders, Béatrice Ségurens, Mireille Sévignac, Sue Sherman-Broyles, Dominic M Tucker, Jing Yi, Jeff J Doyle, Valérie Geffroy, Bruce A Roe, MA Saghai Maroof, Nevin D Young, Roger W Innes. Plant Physiology. 2008. doi: http:/​/​dx.​doi.​org/​10.​1104/​pp.​108.​127910
  29. Differential accumulation of retroelements and diversification of NB-LRR disease resistance genes in duplicated regions following polyploidy in the ancestor of soybean. Roger W Innes, Carine Ameline-Torregrosa, Tom Ashfield, Ethalinda Cannon, Steven B Cannon, Ben Chacko, Nicolas WG Chen, Arnaud Couloux, Anita Dalwani, Roxanne Denny, Shweta Deshpande, Ashley N Egan, Natasha Glover, Christian S Hans, Stacy Howell, Dan Ilut, Scott Jackson, Hongshing Lai, Jafar Mammadov, Sara Martin del Campo, Michelle Metcalf, Ashley Nguyen, Majesta O’Bleness, Bernard E Pfeil, Ram Podicheti, Milind B Ratnaparkhe, Sylvie Samain, Iryna Sanders, Beatrice Segurens, Mireille Sevignac, Sue Sherman-Broyles, Vincent Thareau, Dominic M Tucker, Jason Walling, Adam Wawrzynski, Jing Yi, Jeff J Doyle, Valerie Geffroy, Bruce A Roe, MA Saghai Maroof, Nevin D Young. Plant Physiology. 2008. doi: http:/​/​dx.​doi.​org/​10.​1104/​pp.​108.​127902
  30. Validation of low-phytate QTLs and evaluation of seedling emergence of low-phytate soybeans. Gao, Y., R. M. Biyashev, M. A. Saghai Maroof, N. M. Glover, D. M. Tucker, and G. R. Buss. Crop Science. 2008. doi:10.2135/cropsci2007.11.0633


Awards

  • PLANT FELLOWS international postdoc fellowship— co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme Marie Curie Actions – People, Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes (COFUND) and Bayer CropScience (2014-2016)
  • Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship (IIF)— funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (2011-2013)
  • International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium Outstanding Leadership award (2013)
  • Horace E. and Elizabeth F. Alphin Graduate scholarship (2010-2011)
  • Nelson Graduate Tuition scholarship 2009-2010)
  • Graduate student speaker at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences scholarship Banquet (2009)
  • Virginia Tech Dep. of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences Outstanding Senior (2006)
  • Virginia Crop Production Association scholarship (2006)
  • Virginia Crop Improvement Association scholarship (2005)
  • M S Kipps scholarship (2005)
  • Virginia County Extension Agent scholarship (2004)
  • Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program undergraduate scholarship (2002-2006)

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