current projects

1.MOLECULAR MODULATORS OF PHEROMONE PERCEPTION

We recently showed that chemosensory perception can have long term effects on fertility (Ng et al., Nat Comm, 2015). We are attempting to identify the downstream modulators that mediate this effect.

2.Influence of the microbiome on host physiology

The microbiome, the collection of microbes that resides within an organism, has emerged as a major influence in numerous facets of host physiology including lifespan, metabolism, reproduction, and some behaviors. Using a comparative approach combined with powerful Drosophila genetic tools and biochemical analysis, we seek to understand how environmental microbes contribute to the microbiome composition, health, and physiology of resident hosts.

3.CHEMICAL DIVERSITY OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN DROSOPHILA

The Hawaiian Drosophila clade exhibit spectacular ecological and behavioral variation. We seek to characterize the chemical diversity of Hawaiian drosophilid cuticular lipids and pheromones using mass spectrometry and the influence of environmental and social factors. Transcriptomics will be used to examine the underlying biosynthetic pathways. 

collaborators

Budhaditya Chowdhury (Bucknell University, PA, USA): Evolution of Hawaiian Drosophila behavior

Samuel Church (New York University, USA): Evolution of Hawaiian Drosophila behavior

Henry Chung (Michigan State University, USA): Evolution of pheromone diversity

Toshie Kai (Kyoto University, Japan): Microbial influence on Drosophila oogenesis

Bernard Kim (Princeton University, NJ, USA): Evolution of Hawaiian Drosophila behavior

Donald Price (Univ. of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA): Hawaiian Drosophila microbiome function