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Susanne Renner

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Susanne Sabine Renner
Photo of Susanne Renner
Born (1954-10-05) October 5, 1954 (age 71)[1]
Tübingen
EducationUniversity of Hamburg
Scientific career
ThesisPhänologie, Blütenbiologie und Rekombinationssysteme einiger zentralamazonischer Melastomataceen (1984)

Susanne Sabine Renner is a German botanist. Until October 2020, she was a professor of biology at LMU Munich as well as director of the Botanische Staatssammlung München and the Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg. Since January 2021, she lives in St. Louis, where she is an Honorary Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and a Research Associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Education

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Renner received her M.Sc. degree in biology in 1980 and her Ph.D. in 1984, both from the University of Hamburg. She qualified as Professor in Systematic Botany in 1992.[2]

Career

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From 1987 to 1992 Renner was associate professor at the Botanical Institute at the Aarhus University. From 1993 to 1996, she was Professor at the University of Mainz. From 1996 to 2006, she was professor at University of Missouri–St. Louis, affiliated with one of the largest botanical gardens worldwide, the Missouri Botanical Garden. Since 2003, she is professor for systematic botany at LMU Munich as well as director of the Botanische Staatssammlung München, the Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg and the University Herbarium (MSB).[2] As of 2021, she retains an emeritus position at LMU Munich and is an honorary professor in the Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.[3][4]

Research

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Renner's research spans plant systematics, evolutionary biology, reproductive biology, historical biogeography and plant–animal interactions. Her early work focused on tropical flowering plants, particularly the Melastomataceae and Memecylaceae, and combined comparative morphology, field observations and molecular phylogenetics to investigate relationships among plant lineages and their geographical histories. She subsequently worked on several other species-rich plant groups, including the Lauraceae, Araceae and Cucurbitaceae.[5][6][7][8][9]

Plant systematics

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Renner's research has also focuses on evolution of sexual systems in flowering plants. With Robert E. Ricklefs, she examined the distribution of dioecy among angiosperms and its associations with ecological and morphological characteristics. Her work incorporated comparative databases to investigate dioecy, monoecy and gynodioecy and the evolutionary mechanisms underlying plant sexual systems. This research has also extended to the evolution of sex chromosomes and sex-determination mechanisms in land plants.[7]

Crop evolution and domestication

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Renner has conducted research on the evolution and domestication of plants in the Cucurbitaceae[10], including watermelon[11], cucumber[12], melon, squash and pumpkin. Her work has combined phylogenetic, genomic and archaeological evidence to investigate relationships between cultivated plants and their wild relatives.[13]

In 2021, Renner and collaborators investigated the origin of domesticated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). Their genetic analyses identified the Kordofan melon of Sudan as the closest sampled wild relative of domesticated watermelon and supported its possible role in the crop's evolutionary history. The findings challenged an earlier hypothesis that cultivated watermelon originated from the citron melon of southern Africa. The researchers also compared the genetic evidence with representations of watermelon-like fruits in ancient Egyptian art.[14]

Plant–animal interactions

Renner's research has also examined ecological and evolutionary interactions between plants and animals. With Guillaume Chomicki, she investigated the mutualistic relationship between the ant Philidris nagasau and epiphytic plants of the genus Squamellaria in Fiji. The ants transport plant seeds to suitable sites on trees and subsequently obtain resources from the plants. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the association evolved several million years ago. The research provided evidence of an agricultural-like relationship involving ants and a seed plant, distinct from the fungal agriculture practiced by several ant groups.[15]

She has also investigated specialized pollination systems, including the relationship between passionflowers and the sword-billed hummingbird. This work examined the evolutionary history of plant–pollinator specialization and found evidence that highly specialized interactions can evolve and subsequently disappear repeatedly.[16][17]

Another area of Renner's ecological research has concerned pollination in urban environments. Research conducted with students at the Munich botanical institutions examined the foraging distances of solitary bees. Experiments involving individually marked bees found that females of several species generally foraged within a relatively short distance of their nests, providing evidence relevant to the design and spatial arrangement of flowering habitat in urban landscapes.[18][19][20]

Phenology and climate change

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Renner's research on plant phenology began with questions concerning flowering in tropical plants.[21] Her work has examined how plants near the equator synchronize reproductive activity in environments where seasonal changes in day length provide comparatively little information.[22]

She subsequently investigated phenological responses to environmental change in temperate plants[23]. Her research has considered how changes in temperature and seasonal conditions affect flowering, leaf development and fruiting, and how shifts in the timing of these events can alter ecological relationships between plants and animals. This work has included research on phenological mismatches associated with climate change.[24]

Her later research has continued to combine evolutionary biology, systematics and environmental change.Her work have included studies of plant sexual systems, sex chromosomes, phenological responses to climate and the evolutionary history of early-diverging angiosperms, including Amborella, which is endemic to New Caledonia.[25]

Taxonomy

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Renner has also worked on the development of contemporary approaches to taxonomy and biodiversity research. She coordinated the German Research Foundation's (DFG) Priority Programme Taxon-Omics, which supported research combining molecular, genomic and computational methods for species discovery, identification and classification.[26]

The programme sought to develop and evaluate methods for documenting biological diversity and integrating different forms of taxonomic information. Renner has argued for greater use of genomic and computational approaches in systematics while emphasizing the need to prioritize biologically and socially significant groups when resources for species discovery and description are limited.[27]

Her work in taxonomy has also addressed the management, standardization and reuse of taxonomic information and the relationship between nomenclatural systems and biodiversity databases.[28]

Research methodology

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Renner's research has combined traditional systematic methods with molecular phylogenetics, comparative biology, ecological experiments and genomic approaches.[29][30] Her work has increasingly incorporated experimental studies of plant–animal interactions alongside her earlier emphasis on plant classification and evolutionary history.[31]

In an interview discussing her research, Renner described an early field experiment in Amazonian Ecuador involving an ant-associated plant and the effects of its ants on neighboring vegetation as influential in her subsequent interest in experimental ecology. She later incorporated experimental approaches into research conducted with students at the Munich botanical institutions, particularly studies of plant–pollinator interactions.[32]

Renner has also advocated interdisciplinary approaches linking systematics with fields such as genomics, chromosome biology and epigenetics. Her research has included both individual systematic studies and large collaborative projects based on extensive biodiversity datasets.[31]

Selected publications

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Awards

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Renner is a member of several notable science academies. In 1999, she was elected to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[1] In 2005 she was elected as a foreign member to the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.[33] In 2009 she was elected to Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Germany.[34] In 2018 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[35] In 2021, she was elected corresponding member of the Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin (founded in 1773).[citation needed] From 2011 to 2020, she was President of the Bavarian Botanical Society.

Eponymy

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The standard author abbreviation S.S.Renner is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[36]

Personal life

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Renner was married to American ornithologist and ecologist Robert Ricklefs until his death in 2026.[37]

References

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  1. 1 2 "Leopoldina CV" (PDF). Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Renner page at University of Missouri St. Louis". April 1, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ Charles Bergquist (June 4, 2021). "Where Did Watermelon Come From?". Science Friday (Podcast). Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  4. ↑ gerrity (2020-12-30). "Susanne S. Renner | Department of Biology". biology.wustl.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  5. ↑ Chanderbali, Andre S.; van der Werff, Henk; Renner, Susanne S. (2001). "Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of Lauraceae: Evidence from the Chloroplast and Nuclear Genomes". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 88 (1): 104–134. Bibcode:2001AnMBG..88..104C. doi:10.2307/2666133. ISSN 0026-6493. JSTOR 2666133.
  6. ↑ Renner, Susanne S. (1993). "Phylogeny and classification of the Melastomataceae and Memecylaceae". Nordic Journal of Botany. 13 (5): 519–540. Bibcode:1993NorJB..13..519R. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1993.tb00096.x. ISSN 1756-1051.
  7. 1 2 Renner, Susanne S.; Ricklefs, Robert E. (1995). "Dioecy and its correlates in the flowering plants". American Journal of Botany. 82 (5): 596–606. Bibcode:1995AmJB...82..596R. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1995.tb11504.x. ISSN 1537-2197.
  8. ↑ Ming, Ray; Bendahmane, Abdelhafid; Renner, Susanne S. (2011-06-02). "Sex Chromosomes in Land Plants". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 62 (1): 485–514. Bibcode:2011AnRPB..62..485M. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-042110-103914. ISSN 1543-5008. PMID 21526970.
  9. ↑ "Plant sex chromosomes defy evolutionary models - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis". The Source. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  10. ↑ Chomicki, Guillaume; Schaefer, Hanno; Renner, Susanne S. (2020). "Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology". New Phytologist. 226 (5): 1240–1255. doi:10.1111/nph.16015. ISSN 1469-8137.
  11. ↑ "A bitter mystery: Scientists sequence world's oldest plant genome from 6,000-year-old watermelon seeds | Kew". www.kew.org. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  12. ↑ "Where the wild veggies are: Cultivated cucumber and melon originated in Asia and Australia". Archived from the original on 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  13. ↑ "Pumpkins and cucumbers: New checklist brings information about cucurbitaceae up to date". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  14. ↑ Alex, Bridget. "Why Prehistoric Herders Didn't Spit Out Their Watermelon Seeds". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  15. ↑ "Ant-plant symbioses: Adapting to changes in partner abundance". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  16. ↑ Science X. Provided by LMU Munich (ed.). "Escape from an evolutionary cul-de-sac". phys.org. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  17. ↑ Abrahamczyk, S.; Souto-Vilarós, D.; Renner, S. S. (2014-11-22). "Escape from extreme specialization: passionflowers, bats and the sword-billed hummingbird". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 281 (1795) 20140888. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0888. PMC 4213610. PMID 25274372.
  18. ↑ Renner, Susanne (1983). "The Widespread Occurrence of Anther Destruction by Trigona Bees in Melastomataceae". Biotropica. 15 (4): 251–256. Bibcode:1983Biotr..15..251R. doi:10.2307/2387649. ISSN 0006-3606. JSTOR 2387649.
  19. ↑ "How quickly do flower strips in cities help the local bees?". ScienceDaily. March 2, 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  20. ↑ Hofmann, Michaela M.; Renner, Susanne S. (2020-02-27). "One-year-old flower strips already support a quarter of a city's bee species". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 75: 87–95. doi:10.3897/jhr.75.47507. ISSN 1314-2607. S2CID 212698750.
  21. ↑ "Leafing out and climate change". Archived from the original on 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  22. ↑ Renner, Susanne S.; Zohner, Constantin M. (2019). "The occurrence of red and yellow autumn leaves explained by regional differences in insolation and temperature". New Phytologist. 224 (4): 1464–1471. doi:10.1111/nph.15900. ISSN 1469-8137.
  23. ↑ Zani, Deborah; Crowther, Thomas W.; Mo, Lidong; Renner, Susanne S.; Zohner, Constantin M. (2020-11-27). "Increased growing-season productivity drives earlier autumn leaf senescence in temperate trees". Science. 370 (6520). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 1066–1071. doi:10.1126/science.abd8911.
  24. ↑ Panchen, Zoe A.; Primack, Richard B.; Nordt, Birgit; Ellwood, Elizabeth R.; Stevens, Albert-Dieter; Renner, Susanne S.; Willis, Charles G.; Fahey, Robert; Whittemore, Alan; Du, Yanjun; Davis, Charles C. (2014). "Leaf out times of temperate woody plants are related to phylogeny, deciduousness, growth habit and wood anatomy". New Phytologist. 203 (4): 1208–1219. doi:10.1111/nph.12892. ISSN 1469-8137.
  25. ↑ Renner, Susanne S. (2026-06-08). "Amborella". Current biology: CB. 36 (11): R491–R492. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.011. ISSN 1879-0445. PMID 42259260.
  26. ↑ "DFG - GEPRIS". gepris.dfg.de. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  27. ↑ "TAXON-OMICS - Zoo Thoiry : tarif billets & horaires". www.taxon-omics.de (in French). Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  28. ↑ "„Taxon-Omics: New Approaches for Discovering and Naming Biodiversity" – Neues Priority Programme der DFG · Koordinierungsstelle wissenschaftliche Sammlungen". wissenschaftliche-sammlungen.de. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  29. ↑ "Susanne S. Renner | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. 2026-08-27. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  30. ↑ Rutherford, Susan (2020-01-02). "Insights into speciation and species delimitation of closely related eucalypts using an interdisciplinary approach". Australian Systematic Botany. 33 (1): 110–127. doi:10.1071/SB18042. ISSN 1030-1887.
  31. 1 2 gerrity (2020-12-30). "Susanne S. Renner | Department of Biology". biology.washu.edu. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
  32. ↑ Renner, Susanne S. (2019-12-16). "Susanne S. Renner". Current Biology. 29 (24). Elsevier: R1290. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.054. ISSN 0960-9822.
  33. ↑ "Royal Academy". www.royalacademy.dk. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  34. ↑ "Leopoldina news" (PDF). March 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Susanne S. Renner". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  36. ↑ International Plant Names Index. S.S.Renner.
  37. ↑ Jennifer Viegas (2012), "Profile of Robert E. Ricklefs", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (in German), vol. 109, no. 38, pp. 15075–7, Bibcode:2012PNAS..10915075V, doi:10.1073/pnas.1213178109, PMC 3458327, PMID 22908302
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