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Current Research
Skills and Expertise:
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Electrophysiology
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Neuroethology
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Insect Behavior
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Behavioral Ecology
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Insect-Microbe Interaction
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Insect-Plant Interaction
Project 1: Divergent sensory investment mirrors potential speciation
via niche partitioning across Drosophila.
(Published, eLIFE, 2020)
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Here we tested the theory that inverse variation between vision and olfaction (e.g. eye and antenna) across the genus Drosophila is predicated by ecological and evolutionary pressures generated within shared or overlapping geography and/or environments. As such, we hypothesized that closely-related species may divide resources through the adoption of a distinct ecological niche within a single shared ecosystem (e.g. light versus dark space), and thus reduce competition for mates and for host materials.
In order to assess the visual and olfactory capabilities across this family of insects, we are using a morphometric comparison of the compound eye, antenna, antennal lobe (AL) and optic lobe (OL) of 60+ species of Drosophila. This project is a starting place to document multimodal integration of visual and olfactory stimuli in regard to ecological and behavioral decisions over an evolutionary time scale, as different species may favor or prioritize visual or olfactory input, especially when these modalities offer conflicting information about the location of the host.
Project 2: Inverse resource allocation between vision and olfaction
across the genus Drosophila
(Published, Nature Communications, 2019)
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Project 3: Plant-based natural product chemistry for integrated pest management of Drosophila suzukii
(Published, Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2019)
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We are examining the potential of different plant species to produce odorants that generate aversion for feeding and oviposition by Drosophila suzukii, which is a growing pest insect for many growers of small fruit and berry crops in Europe, North and South America as well as across its source of origin in parts of Asia. Here we focus on two plant species which have previously been reported to produce iridoid compounds, namely catnip (Nepeta genus) as well as kiwifruit (Actinidia genus). Interestingly, several varieties of these plants generate chemistry that is remarkably similar to known iridoids from parasitoid wasps of the genus Leptopilina, which are Drosophila-specific larval parasitoids, and in turn, these wasp iridoids have been shown previously to cause aversive behaviors in the flies. Therefore, we intend to explore the possibility of identifying naturally repellent chemistry from these plant genera, in order to test the efficacy of these plant-based iridoids for the control of D. suzukii in the field.
Project 4: Evolution of a pest: towards the complete neuroethology
of Drosophila suzukii and the subgenus Sophophora.
(Available soon via bioRxiv in 2019; in revision, Cell Reports)
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We are working to identify all olfactory differences that make one species a world-wide pest, while others within this genus are not agriculturally or economically relevant. This project outlines the olfactory differences between several species, including the complete mapping of the best ligands for each sensillum, as well as relative comparisons of expression.
Pathogens and parasites can manipulate their hosts to optimize their own fitness. For instance, bacterial pathogens have been shown to affect their host plants’ volatile and non-volatile metabolites, which results in increased attraction of insect vectors to the plant, and hence, to increased pathogen dispersal. Behavioral manipulation by parasites has also been shown for mice, snails, zebrafish as well as for insects. Here we show that infection by pathogenic bacteria alters the social communication system of Drosophila melanogaster. More specifically, infected flies and their frass emit dramatically increased amounts of fly odors, including the aggregation pheromones methyl laurate, methyl myristate and methyl palmitate, attracting healthy flies which in turn become infected and further enhance pathogen dispersal. Thus olfactory cues for attraction and aggregation are vulnerable to pathogenic manipulation, and we show that the alteration of social pheromones can be beneficial to the microbe while detrimental to the insect host.
Project 5: Pathogenic bacteria enhance dispersal through alteration
of Drosophila social communication
(Published, Nature Communications, 2017)
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