​DO LEAF-FEEDING CATERPILLARS HAVE A GUT MICROBIOME?

​This project was recently published (see Discoveries tab). My dissertation seminar for the University of Colorado's Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department, in which I discuss my research on caterpillar gut microbiomes, is available on YouTube: 

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​THE MICROBIOME OF Adult HELICONIINE BUTTERFLIES

Heliconius erato in Gamboa, Panama

Working with Owen McMillan, I am studying the microbial communities of adult neotropical passion-vine butterflies at a range of taxonomic and geographic scales. Heliconius and related genera are a widely studied model system for the evolution and genetic/developmental basis of wing coloration. These butterflies exhibit an amazing variety of mimicry patterns and participate in unique interactions with plants as both caterpillars and adults (see here). The main research questions I am investigating are:
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- Have symbiont communities codiversified with their host lineages?
- Is the microbiome biogeographically structured?
- Do symbionts enable Heliconius butterfly adults to feed on pollen?
- What roles do gut microbes have in butterfly biology (e.g., nutrition, protection from pathogens)?

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