Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Function
Scientific staff member
Group
Contact
Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Site
WSL Birmensdorf Bi MG C 34
My main research interest is how a near-extinction event (i.e., the interplay of demography and selection) affects the genetic risks of wild species and thus their future viability. I am especially interested in gene flow and deleterious mutation load.
In collaboration with researchers who share my interests, we aim to address both fundamental questions in evolutionary biology and issues relevant to conservation strategies for endangered species.
The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), previously extinct in the Alps, has made a comeback due to extensive conservation measures. However, the observation of individuals with defective feathers, unable to fly, raises concerns regarding genetic defects and their impact on the species’ future. In this project PhD student Céline Kalberer utilizes state-of-the art genome analysis tools to assess the genetic risk factors in the current wild bearded vulture population, with special focus on genes involved in feather development.
Alpine ibex (Capra ibex): Combining ancient, historic and modern samples spanning a period of more than 8000 years to investigate the consequences of near extinction on the genomic makeup of a species.
Alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon): In collaboration with practitioners, Dr. Gözde Çilingir uses genomic tools to investigate, how small-scale geographic and anthropogenic structures shape genetic patterns across populations of the endangered Alcon blue butterfly in Switzerland.
European wildcat (Felis silvestris): Genome-wide analyses of hybridisation and introgression to improve our understanding, how well hybrids cope with their mixed ancestry of a wild and a domesticated species and how hybridisation may affect the long-term survivability of Wildcats in Switzerland.
Bumblebees (Bombus lapidarius and Bombus pascuorum): Dr. Gözde Çilingir performs genome-wide comparisons of urban and rural bumblebees, which show striking phenotypic differences.
Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea): Dr. Gözde Çilingir performs population genomic analysis to inform conservation management of wild and reintroduced populations.
Grossen, C. (2025). “Schädliche Mutationen und ihre Folgen in wildlebenden Arten” Natur und Landschaft N&L inside, 01/25, 32–36.
Grossen, C., and Ramakrishnan U. (2024). Genetic load. Current Biology: CB 34 (24): R1216–20.
Brambilla A., Zehnder N., Bassano B., Rossi L., Grossen C. (2024). Genetic evidence of a hybrid swarm between Alpine ibex and domestic goat. Evolutionary Applications, 17 (8): e13761.
Münger X., Robin M., Dalén L., Grossen C. (2024). Facilitated introgression from domestic goat into Alpine ibex at immune loci. Molecular Ecology, e17429
Çilingir, F.G., A’Bear, L., Hansen, D., Davis, L.R., Bunbury, N., Ozgul, A., Croll, D., Grossen, C. (2022). Chromosome-level genome assembly for the Aldabra giant tortoise enables insights into the genetic health of a threatened population. GigaScience, 11: giac090
Robin, M., Ferrari, GJ., Akguel, G., Von Seth, J., Schuenemann, VJ., Dalen, L., Grossen. C. (2022). Ancient mitogenomes unravel massive genetic diversity loss during near extinction of Alpine ibex. Molecular Ecology, 31(13): 3548-3565.
Kessler, C., Brambilla, A., Waldvogel, D., Camenisch, G., Biebach, I., Leigh, D. M., Grossen, C.* & Croll, D.* (2021). A robust sequencing assay of a thousand amplicons for the high-throughput population monitoring of Alpine ibex immunogenetics. Molecular Ecology Resources, 22(1): 66-85. *These authors contributed equally to this work.
Grossen C., Guillaume F., Keller LF., Croll D. (2020). Purging of highly deleterious mutations through severe bottlenecks in ibex. Nature Communications, 11: 1-12.
Grossen C., Biebach I., Angelone-Alasaad S., Keller LF. and Croll D. (2018). Population genomics analyses of European ibex species show lower diversity and higher inbreeding in reintroduced populations. Evolutionary Applications, 11: 123–139.
Grossen C., Keller LF., Biebach I. and Croll D. (2014). Introgression from domestic goat generated variation at the major histocompatibility complex of Alpine ibex. PloS Genetics, 10, e1004438.
