Microbial determinants of folivory in beetles
Microbiology Seminar Series
- Date: May 23, 2022
- Time: 01:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Dr. Hassan Salem
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Mutualisms Research Group, Tübingen
- Location: Hybrid
- Host: Dr. Georg Hochberg
- Contact: georg.hochberg@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
We are interested in the evolutionary processes that shape mutually beneficial species interactions, with emphasis on why they form and how they facilitate adaptation in insects. Using leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidea) as a model, my talk will outline the mechanisms by which these insects house and transmit their obligate microbial symbionts, and the evolutionary consequences of engaging with a single clade of microbes for an upwards of 80 million years. Leveraging data from genomic and transcriptomic sequencing, microscopy, and bioassays, I will address (i) the metabolic factors defining nutritional and defensive symbioses within the Chrysomelidea, (ii) how variation in these factors drastically shapes beetle physiology and host-plant use, and (iii) the trade-offs governing symbiont localisation and transmission.