ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF MICROBIAL SYMBIOSIS IN LEPIDOPTERA
Welcome! I am a second-year doctoral student in Noah Fierer's lab at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I study the communities of microorganisms that live symbiotically associated with Lepidoptera—the butterflies, moths, and their caterpillar larvae. All animals have a “microbiome,” including humans; we carry approximately ten times as many microbial cells in and on our bodies as our own cells, and the repertoire of genes we contain in our genome is dwarfed by the vast diversity of genes encoded by our microbial symbionts (see here and here for more). An exciting possibility is that some of the variation in host health and other phenotypic traits is due to variation in the types of these microbial cells and genes that are present.
I am interested in how the microbiome of insects mediates their ecology and evolution. There is a large and growing body of research on true bugs, bees, flies, roaches and other insects where bacteria and other microbes are shown to have a variety of effects on host nutrition, development, coloration, defense, interactions with plants, mating behavior and other aspects of their biology. However, comparatively little is known about the symbionts of butterflies and moths—a group of animals that are otherwise well studied scientifically and widely appreciated for their beauty and fascinating ecology.
The wealth of existing knowledge on Lepidoptera provides a rich ecological and evolutionary context in which to place studies of microbial symbiosis. With the advent of next-generation DNA sequencing technology—particularly barcoded 454 and Illumina sequencing—it has only recently become possible to explore the diversity of Lepidoptera-associated microbial communities in their native habitat. Additionally, the amenability of these insects to experimental manipulation means that hypotheses derived from sequencing-based observational studies can be tested in the lab or field.
Aside from relevance for basic questions in ecology and evolution, this research has the potential for applications in a wide range of areas. Many of the major global crop pests are caterpillars, and some species can defoliate wide swaths of natural forests during outbreaks. Biocontrol approaches tailored to a pest's microbiome might provide a targeted and effective solution to complement those currently used. Additionally, since resistance to insecticides may evolve from changes in an insect’s microbial community rather than its own DNA, understanding the insect-symbiont relationship is important to ensure the continued function of our agroecosystems. Finally, knowledge of the microbiome of caterpillars, moths, and butterflies may find uses for studies of the human microbiome and its application to medicine, for biogeochemical modeling of nutrient cycling, and for bioenergy and biofuels development.
I am interested in how the microbiome of insects mediates their ecology and evolution. There is a large and growing body of research on true bugs, bees, flies, roaches and other insects where bacteria and other microbes are shown to have a variety of effects on host nutrition, development, coloration, defense, interactions with plants, mating behavior and other aspects of their biology. However, comparatively little is known about the symbionts of butterflies and moths—a group of animals that are otherwise well studied scientifically and widely appreciated for their beauty and fascinating ecology.
The wealth of existing knowledge on Lepidoptera provides a rich ecological and evolutionary context in which to place studies of microbial symbiosis. With the advent of next-generation DNA sequencing technology—particularly barcoded 454 and Illumina sequencing—it has only recently become possible to explore the diversity of Lepidoptera-associated microbial communities in their native habitat. Additionally, the amenability of these insects to experimental manipulation means that hypotheses derived from sequencing-based observational studies can be tested in the lab or field.
Aside from relevance for basic questions in ecology and evolution, this research has the potential for applications in a wide range of areas. Many of the major global crop pests are caterpillars, and some species can defoliate wide swaths of natural forests during outbreaks. Biocontrol approaches tailored to a pest's microbiome might provide a targeted and effective solution to complement those currently used. Additionally, since resistance to insecticides may evolve from changes in an insect’s microbial community rather than its own DNA, understanding the insect-symbiont relationship is important to ensure the continued function of our agroecosystems. Finally, knowledge of the microbiome of caterpillars, moths, and butterflies may find uses for studies of the human microbiome and its application to medicine, for biogeochemical modeling of nutrient cycling, and for bioenergy and biofuels development.
I recently published a study characterizing bacterial community dynamics over the life cycle of the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato. Check out my research page for what I'm currently working on, and feel free to contact me via the button at the top of the page.
Keywords:
Lepidoptera
microbiome
symbiosis
caterpillars
microbial communities
Heliconius butterflies
plant-insect interactions
gut microbiota
Keywords:
Lepidoptera
microbiome
symbiosis
caterpillars
microbial communities
Heliconius butterflies
plant-insect interactions
gut microbiota
