Entomology: Personnel
Entomology Faculty
Kerry M. OliverAssistant Professor of Entomology Contact InformationAddress: Department of Entomology Phone: (706) 542-2311 |
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Aphidius
attacking pea aphids. Photograph by Alex Wild. |
My research focuses on symbiosis, with a particular interest in the evolutionary and ecological consequences of associations between insects and heritable microorganisms. Inherited microbes, those that are transmitted vertically from mother to offspring, can spread within host populations by providing benefits to hosts. Defense against natural enemies is one of the most exciting, and potentially widespread, beneficial effects recently discovered in insect-symbiont associations. In this emerging area of inquiry there is much to discover about the dynamics and distributions of defensive symbionts in natural populations, the genetic features of defensive symbionts, including molecular mechanisms of protection, and the impacts these symbionts exert on populations and communities. This lab uses a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating field studies, experimental laboratory assays and microscopy, as well as molecular, genomic and proteomic tools to investigate symbiont-based defense across scales ranging from molecules to populations and communities.
Publications
Oliver, K. M., Russell, J. A., Moran, N. A. & Hunter, M. S. 2003. Facultative bacterial symbionts in aphids confer resistance to parasitic wasps. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100, 1803-1807.
Oliver, K. M., Moran, N. A. & Hunter, M. S. 2005. Variation in resistance to parasitism in aphids is due to symbionts not host genotype. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102, 12795-12800.
Oliver, K. M., Moran, N. A. & Hunter, M. S. 2006. Costs and benefits of a superinfection of facultative symbionts in aphids. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 273, 1273-1280.
Oliver, K. M., Campos, J., Moran, N. A. & Hunter, M. S. 2008. Population dynamics of defensive symbionts in aphids. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 275, 293-299.
Oliver, K. M & Moran, N. A. (2009, In Press). Invited review: Defensive symbionts in aphids and other insects in White, J. F. & Torres, M. S. Defensive mutualism in microbial symbiosis. London: Taylor & Francis