Ecology and evolution of insects and their symbionts

我研究的中心目标是了解共生在塑造生态和动物进化中的作用。我关注的是昆虫的遗传细菌共生体，它们通常在卵内从母体传播给后代，数量极其丰富，种类繁多。许多遗传的共生体对它们的宿主是有益的，例如，帮助营养或帮助抵御天敌。另一些是生殖寄生虫，操纵宿主繁殖以增加频率。目前，人们对遗传微生物作为控制昆虫害虫的新方法的潜在用途产生了极大的兴趣。了解共生体如何与宿主相互作用也将提供对宿主生物学基本方面的见解，如免疫力和细胞周期如何调节。

The central aim of my research is to understand the role that symbiosis plays in shaping the ecology and evolution of animals. I am focusing on inherited bacterial symbionts of insects, which are transmitted from mothers to their offspring, usually inside eggs, and which are extremely abundant and diverse. Many inherited symbionts are beneficial to their hosts, for example, aiding in nutrition or helping defend against natural enemies. Others are reproductive parasites, manipulating host reproduction in order to increase in frequency. There is currently great interest in the potential use of inherited microbes as a novel way to control insect pests. Understanding how symbionts interact with their hosts will also provide insight into essential aspects of host biology, such as immunity and how the cell cycle is regulated.