Crop domestication and diversification
Romero, A.J., Kolesnikova, A., Ezard, T.H.G., Charles, M., Gutaker, R.M., Osborne, C.P., Chapman, M.A. (2025) “Domesticability”: were some species predisposed for domestication? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, in press.
Milla, R., Osborne, C.P. (2021) Crop origins explain variation in global agricultural relevance. Nature Plants, 7, 598-607. link
Jones, G., Kluyver, T., Preece, C., Swarbrick, J., Forster, E., Wallace, M., Charles, M., Rees, M., Osborne, C.P. (2021) The origins of agriculture: intentions and consequences. Journal of Archaeological Science, 125, 105290. link
Shan, Y., Osborne, C.P. (2024) Diversification of quantitative morphological traits in wheat. Annals of Botany, 133, 413-426. link + commentary
Gómez-Fernández1, A., Osborne, C.P., Rees, M., Palomino, J., Ingala, C., Gómez, G., Milla, R. (2022) Disparities among crop species in the evolution of growth rates: the role of distinct origins and domestication histories. New Phytologist, 233, 995-1010. link
Preece, C., Jones, G., Rees, M., Osborne, C.P. (2021) Fertile Crescent crop progenitors gained a competitive advantage from large seedlings. Ecology and Evolution, 11, 3300-3312. link
C4 photosynthesis in the model species Alloteropsis semialata
Pereira, L., Bianconi, M.E., Osborne, C.P., Christin, P.-A., Dunning, L.T. (2023) Alloteropsis semialata as a study system for C4 evolution in grasses. Annals of Botany, 132, 365-382. link
Alenazi, A.S., Bianconi, M.E., Middlemiss, E., Milenkovic, V., Curran, E.V., Sotelo, G., Lundgren, M.R., Nyirenda, F., Pereira, L., Christin, P.-A., Dunning, L.T., Osborne, C.P. (2023) Leaf anatomy explains the strength of C4 activity within the grass species Alloteropsis semialata. Plant, Cell and Environment, 46, 2310-2322. link
Alenazi, A.S., Pereira, L., Christin, P.A., Osborne, C.P., Dunning, L.T. (2024) Identifying genomic regions associated with C4 photosynthetic activity and leaf anatomy in Alloteropsis semialata. New Phytologist, 243, 1698-1710. link
Zhou, Y., Osborne, C.P. (2024) Stomatal dynamics in Alloteropsis semialata arise from the evolving interplay between photosynthetic physiology, stomatal size and biochemistry. Plant, Cell and Environment, 47, 4586-4598. link
C4 grass diversification
Baird, A.S., Taylor, S.H., Pasquet-Kok, J., Vuong, C., Zhang, Y., Watcharamongkol, T., Scoffoni, C., Edwards, E.J., Christin, P.-A., Osborne, C.P., Sack, L. (2021) Developmental basis for climatic distribution of grass leaf size worldwide. Nature, 592, 242-247. link
Baird, A.S., Taylor, S.H., Pasquet-Kok, J., Vuong, C., Zhang, Y., Watcharamongkol, T., Cochard, H., Scoffoni, C., Edwards, E.J., Osborne, C.P., Sack, L. (2025) Resolving the contrasting leaf hydraulic adaptation of C3 and C4 grasses. New Phytologist, online early. link
Baird, A.S., Taylor, S.H., Reddi, S., Pasquet-Kok, J., Vuong, C., Zhang, Y., Watcharamongkol, T., John G.P., Scoffoni, C., Osborne, C.P., Sack, L. (2024) Allometries of leaf and tissue anatomy and photosynthetic rate across leaves of C3 and C4 grasses. Plant, Cell and Environment, 47, 156-173. link
Savanna ecosystem ecology
Simpson, K.J., Archibald, S., Osborne, C.P. (2022) Savanna fire regimes depend on grass trait diversity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 37, 749-758. link
Moore, H.R., Crocker, A.J., Belcher, C.M., Meckler, A.N., Osborne, C.P., Beerling, D.J., Wilson, P.A. (2022) Hydroclimate variability was the main control on fire activity in northern Africa over the last 50,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews, 288, 107578. link
Simpson, K.J., Jardine, E.C., Archibald, S., Forrestel, E., Lehmann, C., Thomas, G., Osborne, C.P. (2021) Resprouting grasses are associated with less frequent fire than seeders. New Phytologist, 230, 832-844. link
Mani, S., Osborne, C.P., Cleaver, F (2021) Addressing land degradation in South Africa: land justice and climate change in tension. People and Planet, 3, 978-989. link