DISSERTATION RESEARCH: An assessment of horizontal and vertical transmission of endosymbiont infections in Drosophila and bee species

寄生虫在自然界中很常见，大多数寄生虫通过在个体之间传播而传播。然而，许多昆虫体内有微小的寄生虫，这些寄生虫被认为只能通过卵从母体传播给后代。 这些微生物被称为生殖寄生虫，因为它们通常在生殖过程中引起异常，例如雄性雌性化，杀死雄性胚胎或胚胎发育而不受精。 大多数关于生殖寄生虫的研究都假设传播是严格地从母亲传给后代。 令人惊讶的是，最近的实验工作表明，这些微生物偶尔会在无关的个体之间传播感染性。将通过使用DNA标记检测个体之间和世代之间的转移来研究果蝇（果蝇）中的传染性传播程度。 研究涉及疾病和寄生虫传播的基本过程。 此外，生殖寄生虫，如这里检查已被提议作为生物控制剂的一些昆虫为媒介的人类疾病。 如果寄生虫的感染性传播是常见的，那么需要修改当前的害虫控制模型，以防止寄生虫传播到非目标昆虫。 研究人员将继续让高中生和本科生参与实验室研究，并正在为高中生和中学生制定推广计划。 这个项目是年轻学生的理想选择，因为它在概念上相对简单，有趣（男性杀戮和女性化激起了年轻学生的兴趣），包括技术上简单的组成部分。

Parasites are common throughout the natural world and most parasites spread by moving among individuals infectiously. Many insects, however, harbor microscopic parasites that are thought to be transmitted solely through the egg from mother to offspring. These microorganisms are termed reproductive parasites because they usually cause abnormalities during reproduction, such as feminization of males, killing of male embryos or development of embryos without fertilization. Most studies of reproductive parasites assume that transmission is strictly from mother to offspring. Surprisingly, recent experimental work has shown that these microorganisms can occasionally spread infectiously among unrelated individuals. The extent of infectious transmission in fruit flies (Drosophila) will be investigated by using DNA markers to detect transfer between individuals and between generations. The research addresses fundamental process of disease and parasite transmission. Moreover, reproductive parasites such as those examined here have been proposed as biological control agents for some insect-vectored human diseases. If infectious transmission of the parasite is common, current models for pest control will need to be modified to prevent spread of the parasite to non-target insects. The investigators will continue to engage high school students and undergraduates in laboratory research and are developing outreach programs for high school and middle school students. This project is ideal for younger students because it is relatively simple conceptually, interesting (male-killing and feminization piques the interest of young students) and includes components that are technically simple.