Areas of expertise
About
Our lab takes a comprehensive approach to understanding the ecological and evolutionary consequences of defensive symbiosis. We primarily study aphids, which harbor nine common facultative, heritable symbionts that collectively mediate interactions with pathogens, parasitoids, and thermal threats. We conduct organismal studies that experimentally isolate symbiont effects on aphid biology. Molecular and genomic tools help us decode the genetic diversity of defensive symbionts and the basis of protection. We also conduct field studies to explore symbiont distributions and dynamics in natural populations. This multidisciplinary approach enables us to track the impact of defensive symbionts, from individual molecules to population dynamics and community structure.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Entomology
University of Arizona The, AZ, United States (2005)
Bachelor of Science, Biology/Biological Sciences, General
University of Utah, UT, United States (1998)
Scholarly Works
- Facultative bacterial symbionts in aphids confer resistance to parasitic wasps, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, (2003).
- Facultative Symbionts in Aphids and the Horizontal Transfer of Ecologically Important Traits, ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY, (2010).
- Variation in resistance to parasitism in aphids is due to symbionts not host genotype, PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, (2005).
- Bacteriophages Encode Factors Required for Protection in a Symbiotic Mutualism, SCIENCE, (2009).
- Defensive symbiosis in the real world -advancing ecological studies of heritable, protective bacteria in aphids and beyond, FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, (2014).
Contact
Mailing Address
136 Cedar St., Building C
Room 516
Athens, GA 30602
Shipping Address
136 Cedar St., Building C
Room 516
Athens, GA 30602