Dr. Jan Hackel
Research Fellow
Contact information
jan.hackel@biologie 1 Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 835032 Marburg
K|05 Institutsgebäude
Organizational unit
Philipps-Universität Marburg Biologie (Fb17) Biodiversität Biodiversität der Pflanzen (AG Zizka)My research area is evolutionary biogeography: I want to understand how patterns of distribution were shaped by speciation, extinction and dispersal. I use field expeditions, molecular lab work and modelling to study these processes. My focus is on plants and fungi.
Academic CV
- since 2023: Research fellow – Universität Marburg
- 2018-2022: Research fellow (Future Leader Fellowship in Plant and Fungal Science) – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK
- 2017-2018: Assistant lecturer (Attaché temporaire d'enseignement et de recherche) – Université Toulouse III, France
- 2014-2017: PhD studies – Université Toulouse III
- 2012-2014: MSc. Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution – Université Toulouse III
- 2008-2012: BSc. Biology – Universität Tübingen, Germany
Research priorities

Grasses and grasslands
Grasses (family Poaceae) dominate roughly 40% of global land surface. I have worked, among other things, on the origins of grasslands in Madagascar. Currently, I continue work on the grasses on Madagascar and on phylogenomics of the grass family.

Macroevolutionary processes
Distribution patterns emerge through speciation, extinction and dispersal. These macroevolutionary processes can be reconstructed using phylogenetic trees. I am interested in particular in the factors affecting the dispersal of lineages.

Plant-symbiotic fungi
Close symbiotic relationships between plants and fungi are of biogeographic interest as the distribution of both partners is interdependent. I have worked on the biogeography of ectomycorrhizal fungi in the Neotropics. I am also interested in fungal endophytes of grasses.
Selected publications
See also my full list of publications on Google Scholar.
- Antonelli A.*, Smith R.J.*, Perrigo A.L.*, Crottini A.**, Hackel J.**, Testo W.**, Farooq H., Torres Jiménez M.F., Andela N., Andermann T., Andriamanohera A.M., Andriambololonera S., Bachman S.P., Bacon C.D., Baker W.J., Belluardo F., Birkinshaw C., Borrell J.S., Cable S., Canales N.A., Carrillo J.D., Clegg R., Clubbe C., Cooke R.S.C., Damasco G., Dhanda S., Edler D., Faurby S., de Lima Ferreira P., Fisher B.L., Forest F., Gardiner L.M., Goodman S.M., Grace O.M., Guedes T.B., Henniges M.C., Hill R., Lehmann C.E.R., Lowry P.P., Marline L., Matos-Maraví P., Moat J., Neves B., Nogueira M.G.C., Onstein R.E., Papadopulos A.S.T., Perez-Escobar O.A., Phelps L.N., Phillipson P.B., Pironon S., Przelomska N.A.S., Rabarimanarivo M., Rabehevitra D., Raharimampionona J., Rajaonah M.T., Rajaonary F., Rajaovelona L.R., Rakotoarinivo M., Rakotoarisoa A.A., Rakotoarisoa S.E., Rakotomalala H.N., Rakotonasolo F., Ralaiveloarisoa B.A., Ramirez-Herranz M., Randriamamonjy J.E.N., Randriamboavonjy T., Randrianasolo V., Rasolohery A., Ratsifandrihamanana A.N., Ravololomanana N., Razafiniary V., Razanajatovo H., Razanatsoa E., Rivers M., Sayol F., Silvestro D., Vorontsova M.S., Walker K., Walker B.E., Wilkin P., Williams J., Ziegler T., Zizka A., Ralimanana H.** (2022): Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use. Science 378: eabf0869. (*Co-lead authors; **section leads)
- Hackel J., Henkel T.W., Moreau P.-A., Courtecuisse R., Buyck B., De Crop E., Verbeken A., Neves M.A., Wartchow F., Sà M., Louisanna E., Schimann H., Garnica S., Manzi S., Roy M. (2022): Biogeographic history of a large clade of ectomycorrhizal fungi, the Russulaceae, in the Neotropics and adjacent regions. New Phytologist 236: 698-713.
- Hackel J., Sanmartín I. (2021): Modelling the tempo and mode of lineage dispersal. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 36: 1102–1112.
- Vorontsova M.S., Besnard G., Razanatsoa J., Hackel J. (2020): The endemic “sugar canes” of Madagascar (Saccharinae: Lasiorhachis) are close relatives of sorghum. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 192: 148-164.
- Bianconi M.*, Hackel J.*, Vorontsova M.S., Alberti A., Arthan W., Burke S.V., Duvall M.R., Kellogg E.A., Lavergne S., McKain M.R., Meunier A., Osborne C.P., Traiperm P., Christin P.-A., Besnard G. (2019): Continued adaptation of C4 photosynthesis after an initial burst of changes in the Andropogoneae grasses. Systematic Biology 69: 445-461. (*co-lead authors)
- Hackel J., Vorontsova M.S., Nanjarisoa O.P., Hall R., Razanatsoa J., Malakasi P., Besnard G. (2018): Grass diversification in Madagascar: In situ radiation of two large C3 shade clades and support for a Miocene to Pliocene origin of C4 grassy biomes. Journal of Biogeography 45: 750-761.
Public outreach
Blog articles for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:
- Climbing Madagascar's highest mountain II (2022)
- Fungi in the Neotropics: on the move for millions of years (2022)
- Maize’s missing cousins: Shedding light on photosynthesis (2019)
Web profiles
1 The email addresses are only selectable in the intranet. To complete an email address, merge following string ".uni-marburg.de" or "uni-marburg.de" to the end of the email address.