Research in the Whiteman Lab
Research in our laboratory focuses on understanding how species interactions drive adaptation. Two research themes fall under this larger umbrella:
We have developed a new model system for studying plant-herbivore interactions, involving the drosophilid fly Scaptomyza flava and the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which it attacks in nature. We also conduct genetic engineering in the 'fruit' or vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster to study the function of loci involved in adaption to toxic plants. This research is supported by an R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (Maximizing Investigator's Research Award for Early State Investigators) from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (1R35GM119816) of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful for this support.
A smaller, but significant lab project involves the broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL). We use that system to identify the genomic architecture underlying variation in foraging traits, and to understand the evolutionary history of those loci. This is a collaborative project with Ph.D. candidate Nicolas Alexandre, Professor Mary (Cassie) Stoddard at Princeton University and Professor David Inouye at the RMBL. Ph.D. student Tim O'Connor has developed his own model system, involving creosote plant and its community of herbivores.
We welcome contact from prospective collaborators, lab members and others. Professor Whiteman is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Computational Biology and can advise Ph.D. and undergraduate students in this program, in addition to students in the Department of Integrative Biology. Professor Whiteman is also an affiliated faculty member of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and faculty curator of plant-animal coevolution in the University and Jepson Herbaria. To learn more, please visit individual lab member pages or email Professor Whiteman.
I encourage you to visit the individual pages of researchers associated with my laboratory in order to understand the breadth and depth of our interests.
Thanks for reading!
Noah
- The first theme focuses on understanding how species interactions can act to maintain genetic variation within populations.
- The second theme focuses on understanding how toxins mediate species interactions. Specifically, how toxins evolve, how they are perceived, resisted and even co-opted. Toxins of biological origin can become keystone molecules, supporting the evolution and integration of diverse phenotypic modules in animals. The evolution of toxicity transforms animals from cryptic to conspicuous, nocturnal to diurnal, small to big, fast to slow, solitary to social, local to widespread, neglectful to doting parents and short- to long-lived. But toxicity is not only restricted to gaudy animals. A parallel transformation unfolded as cells of the animal immune system became armed with an arsenal of novel toxins.
We have developed a new model system for studying plant-herbivore interactions, involving the drosophilid fly Scaptomyza flava and the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which it attacks in nature. We also conduct genetic engineering in the 'fruit' or vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster to study the function of loci involved in adaption to toxic plants. This research is supported by an R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (Maximizing Investigator's Research Award for Early State Investigators) from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (1R35GM119816) of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful for this support.
A smaller, but significant lab project involves the broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL). We use that system to identify the genomic architecture underlying variation in foraging traits, and to understand the evolutionary history of those loci. This is a collaborative project with Ph.D. candidate Nicolas Alexandre, Professor Mary (Cassie) Stoddard at Princeton University and Professor David Inouye at the RMBL. Ph.D. student Tim O'Connor has developed his own model system, involving creosote plant and its community of herbivores.
We welcome contact from prospective collaborators, lab members and others. Professor Whiteman is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Computational Biology and can advise Ph.D. and undergraduate students in this program, in addition to students in the Department of Integrative Biology. Professor Whiteman is also an affiliated faculty member of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and faculty curator of plant-animal coevolution in the University and Jepson Herbaria. To learn more, please visit individual lab member pages or email Professor Whiteman.
I encourage you to visit the individual pages of researchers associated with my laboratory in order to understand the breadth and depth of our interests.
Thanks for reading!
Noah