Andy Gloss, Ph.D.

University of Arizona
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
BioSciences West Room 310
1041 East Lowell Street
Tucson, Arizona 85721

Office: BioSciences West 333
Email: agloss [at] email.arizona.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 2017. Advisor: Noah Whiteman
  • B.S., Biological Science, University of Notre Dame, 2010. Advisor: Hope Hollocher

(I'm now a postdoc with Joy Bergelson at the University of Chicago!)

Research Interests

I'm interested in the genetics of adaptation driven by antagonistic interactions between species. Antagonistic species interactions may be the strongest drivers of adaptive evolution in nature, even in humans. I study antagonistic interactions between plants and insects that feed on them, which together make up roughly half of all terrestrial species.
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My research on plant-herbivore interactions -- which uses herbivorous flies (Scaptomyza flava and S. nigrita) and their host plants (Arabidopsis and other mustards) as a model system -- has three major themes:
  • What adaptations enable evolutionary transitions to herbivory? Feeding on plants presents a number of challenges to insects, including the fact that plant leaves possess a high concentration of defensive chemicals and low abundance of many key nutrients. Using comparative genomics and biochemistry, I study how a simple evolutionary process -- the co-option of duplicated genes -- has played a key role in enabling the evolution of herbivory.
  • How much functional genetic variation is maintained within populations due to antagonistic interactions with multiple species (termed "diffuse" interactions)? Population genetic theory predicts that the use of multiple finely-interspersed habitats -- for example, the use of multiple host plant species by a single insect species -- can maintain genetic variation within populations. I'm using experimental evolution and genome sequencing to investigate the role of this process in shaping patterns of variation across the genomes of Scaptomyza flies.
  • What plant genes (and traits) mediate interactions between plants and insects, and how do they evolve? I explore this question using genome-wide association studies in Arabidopsis, in collaboration with Dr. Joy Bergelson. 
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My research uses techniques in experimental, quantitative, population, and evolutionary genomics; functional genetics and biochemistry; and field experiments.

Publications

In Prep or In Review
  • Gloss, A.D., B. Brachi, M.J. Feldman, S.C. Groen, C. Bartoli, J. Gouzy, E.R. LaPlante, C.G. Meyer, H.S. Pyon, S.C. Rogan, F. Roux, J. Bergelson & N.K. Whiteman (submitted) Genome-wide association mapping identifies a plant biomass locus of major effect mediating herbivore foraging in Arabidopsis.
  • Gloss, A.D., A.C. Nelson Dittrich, R.L. Lapoint, B. Goldman-Huertas, S.T. Behmer, A. Castillo, J. Charbonneau, P.T. Humphrey, J.A.H. Koop, P.D. Nabity, A.D.L. Nelson, T.K. O'Connor, J.F. Ray & N.K. Whiteman (in prep) Genome evolution in a plant-feeding Drosophila that parasitizes Arabidopsis.
  • Humphrey, P.T., A.D. Gloss, N.M. Alexandre, H.A. Affeldt, J.M. Frazier, K. Miazgowicz, A.C. Nelson Dittrich & N.K. Whiteman (in prep) Herbivore habitat preference underlies a textbook example of enemy free space.
Published Research
  • Gloss, A.D., S.C. Groen & N.K. Whiteman. A genomic perspective on the generation and maintenance of genetic diversity in herbivorous insects. (2016) Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. PDF
  • Humphrey, P.T., A.D. Gloss, N.M. Alexandre, M.M. Villalobos, S.C. Groen, M. Fremgen, L.N. Meihls, G. Jander & N.K. Whiteman (2016) Aversion and attraction to harmful plant secondary compounds jointly shape the foraging ecology of a specialist herbivore. Ecology and Evolution. PDF
  • Mandákova, T., A.D. Gloss, N.K. Whiteman & M.A. Lysak (2016) How diploidization turned a tetraploid into a pseudotriploid. American Journal of Botany. PDF
  • Gloss, A.D., D.G. Vassao, A.L. Hailey, A.C. Nelson-Dittrich, K. Schramm, M. Reichelt, T.J. Rast, A. Weichsel, M.G. Cravens, J. Gershenzhon, W. Monfort & N.K. Whiteman. (2014) Evolution in an ancient detoxification pathway is coupled with a transition to herbivory in the Drosophilidae. Molecular Biology and Evolution. PDF.
  • Gloss, A.D., A.C. Nelson Dittrich, B. Goldman-Huertas & N.K. Whiteman. (2013) Maintenance of genetic diversity through plant-herbivore interactions. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. PDF
  • Whiteman, N.K., A.D. Gloss, T.B. Sackton, S.C. Groen, P.T. Humphrey, R.T. Lapoint, I. Sønderby, B.A. Halkier, C. Kocks, F.A. Ausubel, & N.E. Pierce. (2012) Genes involved in the evolution of herbivory by a leaf-mining drosophilid fly. Genome Biology and Evolution [cover feature and selected by Faculty of 1000]. PDF
​Commentaries
Please note that PDFs are for personal use only. Definitive versions are available from the publishers.

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Grants and Awards

  • Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation, 2014
  • Chapman Prize for Research in Insect Science, University of Arizona Center for Insect Science, 2014
  • Darwin/Wallace Biodiversity Scholarship, University of Arizona Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, 2014
  • Travel Grant, University of Arizona Center for Insect Science, 2014
  • Travel Grant, University of Arizona Graduate and Professional Student Society, 2012 and 2014
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2011
  • Lee R.G. Snyder Memorial Scholarship, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, 2011
  • Galileo Circle Scholarship, University of Arizona, 2011
  • IGERT Fellowship in Comparative Genomics, National Science Foundation and University of Arizona, 2010
  • REU Fellowship, National Science Foundation and University of Notre Dame, 2009