Author

Kirsten Isabel Verster

University of California, BerkeleyORCID 0000-0002-1797-7497Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Evolutionary Biology· 3

Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Research Focus:development & morphogenesis· 2 Organism:Drosophila· 2 Research Focus:host-pathogen & immune response· 2 Research Focus:cell signaling & trafficking· 1 Research Focus:chromatin & epigenetic regulation· 1 Assay:DNA methylation· 1 Approach:experimental assay· 1 Approach:genetic perturbation / CRISPR· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Noah Kerness WhitemaniD· 2 shared Susan L. Bernstein· 2 shared Alina Zhang· 1 shared Andrew WangiD· 1 shared Anurag A AgrawaliD· 1 shared Ashley WongiD· 1 shared Bernard Y. KimiD· 1 shared Bonnie K. BaxteriD· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2024-2026 · peak 2/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 18 mutual co-author links

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2 shared papersEvolutionary Biology

Noah Kerness WhitemanORCID

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3 papers

Recent·Most cited

Evolutionary BiologybioRxivPreprintSep 9, 2026

Salinity is associated with habitat use and mitochondrial lineage diversity in halophilic Ephydra flies (Diptera: Ephydridae)

Kirsten Isabel Verster, David B. Herbst, Ekaterina Yu. Yakovleva…·Bonnie K. Baxter

The paper examines salinity preferences and mitochondrial lineage diversity in Ephydra flies, finding strong salinity associations and evolutionary relationships influencing salinity envelopes.

DOI 10.64898/2026.09.03.749233

DNA methylationstatistical model

𝕏 PostBluesky

Evolutionary BiologybioRxivPreprintMay 26, 2026

Toxin resistance in the monarch butterfly expanded its milkweed host range

Naama C. Weksler, Michael Astourian, Derrick Yip…·Marianthi Karageorgi

This study shows that toxin resistance in monarch butterflies allowed them to expand their milkweed host range by enabling survival on a broader range of cardenolide-defended plants.

DOI 10.64898/2026.05.25.727632

Drosophilagenetic perturbation / CRISPR

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Evolutionary BiologyCurrent BiologyPeer-reviewedDec 20, 2024

Retracing the horizontal transfer of a novel innate immune factor in Drosophila

Rebecca L. Tarnopol, Josephine A. Tamsil, Gyöngyi Cinege…·Noah Kerness Whiteman

This study uses genome editing in Drosophila to trace the evolution of horizontally transferred immune toxins, showing fusionB enhances survival and suppresses parasitoid wasp development.

9 citations

Drosophilaexperimental assay

𝕏 PostBluesky