As an evolutionary biologist, I'm interested in understanding the processes that shape microbial variation and the wide array of interactions bacteria form with other species. I'm especially intrigued by endosymbiotic bacteria that live within the tissues or very cells of their hosts. By losing metabolic functions required in more variable external environments, these symbionts often become completely host-dependent. The radical lifestyle transition to endosymbiosis has happened several times in the bacterial world, with important implications for microbes and their hosts. Many insects have coevolved with bacterial partners for tens to hundreds of millions of years, and now rely these symbionts to produce essential nutrients. For example, aphids depend on their bacterial symbiont to produce essential amino acids that are low in plant sap. Much of the research in my lab focuses on such bacteria-insect symbioses as models to explore the ecological and evolutionary consequences of long-term species associations.
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