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，大多数寄生虫是通过在有感染力的个体之间传播来传播的。然而，许多昆虫携带着微小的寄生虫，这些寄生虫被认为只通过卵子从母亲传给后代。这些微生物被称为生殖寄生虫，因为它们通常会在生殖过程中引起异常，如男性女性化、杀死男性胚胎或在没有受精的情况下发育胚胎。大多数关于生殖性寄生虫的研究假设，传播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中传播传染性。将通过使用DNA标记来检测个体之间和世代之间的转移，来调查果蝇(果蝇)的感染传播程度。这项研究涉及疾病和寄生虫传播的基本过程。此外，这里研究的生殖寄生虫被认为是一些昆虫传播性人类疾病的生防剂。如果寄生虫的传染性传播是常见的，那么目前的害虫控制模型将需要修改，以防止寄生虫传播到非目标昆虫。调查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开发外展项目。这个项目是年轻学生的理想选择，因为它的概念相对简单，有趣(杀害男性和女性化激起了年轻学生的兴趣)，并且包含了技术上简单的组件。

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.