Dr. Leke Victor Aiyesa
Postdoc
Research Interest
My research centers on understanding the molecular basis of complex traits through data-driven methods. I specialize in the application of genomics-assisted breeding tools—including genomic prediction, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genotype-environment association analysis, genomic diversity analyses, and differential gene expression analysis—using both statistical and machine learning approaches.
Current Project
My current project focuses on investigating the genetic basis of drought stress adaptation in Q. robur subsp. pendunculiflora and selected German pedunculate oak stands with a wide ecological adaptation. To this end, drought stress adaptation and growth traits will be investigated using multisensory high-throughput precision phenotyping in a seedling-based experiment. Whole-genome resequencing of offspring of both subspecies will be used for GWAS to identify adaptive variants and candidate genes. Based on these data, a 55,000 SNP array will be developed for genotyping up to 2000 individuals for further GWAS and genomic prediction analysis. The trained models are then used to predict drought tolerance-related phenotypic traits of individuals. The project offers the potential to characterize, for the first time, the genetic basis of climate adaptation in the drought-tolerant variety of English oak, Q. robur subsp . pedunculiflora (K. Koch) Menitsky. Gene marker- and phenotype- (drought stress and growth parameters)-assisted selection of individuals can also be used in the future to establish a seed orchard to preserve the genetic variation in drought stress genes as a gene pool in the long term and to utilize material from this gene pool for further breeding and the associated selection.
Project sponsor: Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR)
Short project title: Adaptation of the English oak (OakAdapt)
Education
04.2022 - 04.2025 PhD. Quantitative and Population Genetics of Maize,
Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Germany.
10.2019 - 03.2022 MSc. Integrated Plant and Animal Breeding,
Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Germany.
02.2009 - 01.2014 BSc. Animal Breeding and Genetics,
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Work Experience
04.2025 – till present Scientific researcher (Post-doc)
Department of Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding
Center for Breeding Research (CiBreed)
Georg-August Universität Göttingen
04.2022 – 03.2025 Scientific researcher (PhD)
Division of Plant Breeding Methodology
Department of Crop Sciences
Center for Breeding Research (CiBreed)
Georg-August Universität Göttingen
02.2023 - 12.2023 Program Coordinator
Integrated Plant and Animal Breeding (iPAB) &
Center for Breeding Research (CiBreed)
Georg-August Universität Göttingen
04.2021 - 03.2022 Student Researcher
Quantitative Genetics Group, Department of Breeding Research &
Network Analysis and Modelling Group, Department of Molecular Genetics
Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben.
Publications
Aiyesa, L. V., Scholten, S., Link, W., Zumbach, B., & Kaufmann, D. & Beissinger, T. (2025). Individual plant genetics reveal the control of local adaption in European maize landraces. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4925882/v1.
Psaroudakis, D., Khayer, A., Aiyesa, L. V., Bergau, N., Tissier, A., Lu, Y., Wigge, P. A., Israeli, A., Teboul, N., Bräutigam, A., & Szymański, J. J. (2024). Identification of core, conditional, and crosstalk components of tomato heat stress response using integrative transcriptomics and orthology. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4337825/v1.
Aiyesa, L.V., Malysheva-Otto, L., Meyer-Luepken, T. et al. Dissection of genomic regions associated with plant height and flowering time in a diverse panel of common snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) using GWAS. Euphytica 221, 160 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-025-03610-8
Publikationen (Google Scholar)