Hunter laboratory at the University of Arizona
Encarsia females with whitefly nymphs. Photo credit Alex Wild
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Leptoglossus zonatus. Photo credit Al Reina
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Welcome
In the Hunter laboratory, we study the ecology and evolution of interactions between microbial symbionts and their insect hosts. We are currently studying the mechanisms of reproductive manipulation of Encarsia parasitoids by the symbiont Cardinium, and the transmission and fitness consequences of the environmentally-acquired Burkholderia on the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus zonatus. We have recently concluded more than a decade of study on the population ecology of the symbiont Rickettsia in the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci.
In the Hunter laboratory, we study the ecology and evolution of interactions between microbial symbionts and their insect hosts. We are currently studying the mechanisms of reproductive manipulation of Encarsia parasitoids by the symbiont Cardinium, and the transmission and fitness consequences of the environmentally-acquired Burkholderia on the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus zonatus. We have recently concluded more than a decade of study on the population ecology of the symbiont Rickettsia in the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci.
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Molly Hunter is also the Chair of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology & Insect Science. If you are interested in graduate study in the Hunter laboratory, contact Molly Hunter (see contact page), and check out what the EIS graduate program has to offer. Click on the beetle icon on the left to take you to the GIDP-EIS home page where you can find out more about the program.
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Lab News
Summer 2020. I can't show a spring 2020 pic since that would involve all of our faces on zoom (maybe that's what I should do!) So for now, this is Gentle Ben's, Ashley Little (great undergrad)'s farewell, May 2019. L to R: Molly, Suzanne, Ashley, and other undergrads Esther and Spencer. The lab is in transition again, this time with new students coming in! Two accomplished students are coming to start in the fall. Edwin Umanzour is entering the PhD program to work on Leptoglossus-Burkholderia interactions. Edwin got his bachelor's at UT Austin, where he worked in Nancy Moran's lab, and also with Alex Wild. He's been doing a year research assistantship working on a microsporidian control for fire ants. Liam Sullivan is entering the MS program, also to work on Leptoglossus-Burkholderia interactions. Liam got his bachelor's at University of Rhode Island, and most recently has been working as a research technician for USDA APHIS OTIS on Cape Cod, working on biological control of the spotted lanternfly. Those dryinid parasitoids are so weird! Edwin and Liam will join Matt Doremus for what is likely to be Matt's final year of his PhD working on cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI)-causing Cardinium. We are excited to report that we recently got an NSF IOS grant in collaboration with Stephan Schmitz-Esser at Iowa State and Manuel Kleiner at NC State to look at the mechanism of CI caused by Cardinium. The grant will fund Matt for his final year and at least a year of postdoc. Lastly, in undergrad news, Francisco Montijo graduated in May while Esther Gomez and Andrea Ramos are continuing in the lab, and Josh Garcia is continuing in the greenhouse. PHOTO: Gentle Ben's, Ashley's farewell, May 2019. L to R: Molly, Suzanne, Ashley, Esther and Spencer |
