N. K. Whiteman

Taste evolution in an herbivorous drosophilid

This study investigates how Scaptomyza flava, an herbivorous drosophilid, evolved reduced aversion to bitter plant compounds by altering bitter taste sensitivity and receptor expression.

Evolution of chemosensory and detoxification gene families across herbivorous Drosophilidae

This study examines gene family evolution in herbivorous Drosophila to understand dietary adaptation, finding higher gene turnover in herbivores but limited losses on the ancestral herbivore branch.

Insights into the evolution of herbivory from a leaf-mining, drosophilid fly

This study confirms Scaptomyza flava is an obligate herbivore and presents it as a model system for studying herbivory evolution.

Ecological basis and genetic architecture of crypsis polymorphism in the desert clicker grasshopper (Ligurotettix coquilletti)

The paper investigates the ecological and genetic factors maintaining color polymorphism in grasshoppers, finding that predation and genome structure influence morph frequencies and crypsis.

Horizontal transfer of microbial toxin genes to gall midge genomes

The paper reports horizontal transfer of microbial toxin genes to gall midge genomes, identifying multiple toxin genes with eukaryotic targets and environmental proximity as a driver of HGT.

Highly contiguous assemblies of 101 drosophilid genomes

The paper presents high-quality genome assemblies for 101 drosophilid lines using Oxford Nanopore sequencing, achieving high contig N50 and BUSCO completeness.

Competitive hierarchies, antibiosis, and the distribution of bacterial life history traits in a microbiome

The paper investigates competitive interactions among bacterial strains in a plant microbiome, finding that P. fluorescens outcompetes P. syringae through growth rate, lag time, and antibiotic production.

Evolution and genetic basis of the plant-penetrating ovipositor, a key adaptation in the transition to herbivory within the Drosophilidae

The paper studies the evolution of the plant-penetrating ovipositor in Scaptomyza, finding that regulatory variation in developmental genes contributes to this adaptation.

Evolution of olfactory receptors tuned to mustard oils in herbivorous Drosophilidae

This study identifies olfactory receptor paralogs in Scaptomyza flava that detect mustard oils, showing how plant toxins were co-opted as olfactory attractants through gene duplication and functional specialization.

Insect herbivory reshapes a native leaf microbiome

This study shows insect herbivory increases bacterial abundance in leaf microbiomes and alters community composition, potentially influencing plant disease dynamics.

Evolution of herbivory remodels a Drosophila genome

This study examines how the evolution of herbivory in Drosophila species reshaped their genome, particularly in genes related to chemical sensing and detoxification.

Horizontal transfer of prokaryotic cytolethal distending toxin B genes to eukaryotes

The paper reports the horizontal transfer of the cdtB gene, encoding a DNase, from bacteriophages to eukaryotic insect genomes, where it retains DNase activity and may serve as a defensive mechanism against parasitoid wasps.

Habitat preference of an herbivore shapes the habitat distribution of its host plant

The paper investigates how herbivore habitat preference influences plant distribution, finding that herbivores prefer sunny habitats over shade plants, driving the plant's distribution into shaded areas.

Heritable plant phenotypes track light and herbivory levels at fine spatial scales

This study shows that bittercress plants from sunny and shaded habitats exhibit heritable differences in growth and herbivory resistance, with no growth-defense tradeoff constraints.