Speaker
Description
Insects, the most diverse animal group on the planet, play a wide range of ecological roles essential for the functioning of ecosystems and the well-being of humans. However, this has been possible, at least partly, through the contributions of bacteria and fungi that inhabit insect bodies. We know that such microbial symbionts have enabled the emergence and evolutionary success of entire insect clades. Also, there is growing evidence that symbionts may be essential for insects' ecological and evolutionary responses to rapid environmental changes, including those that drive the current biodiversity declines. During this talk, I will explain how we can combine international fieldwork, cutting-edge sequencing technologies, and custom bioinformatics to understand these fundamental processes.
