Research
Microbes
Microscopic organisms do amazing things. These microbes can provide nutrition, stress tolerance, or detoxification (to name a few things) to their insect hosts. When we see an insect we should think of them not as a single organism, but as an entire community of organisms. First we can characterize the microbial community in insects to understand what is present. Then we can start to ask what potential roles these microbes have for their insect host and how these microbes might facilitate where these insects occur.
Symbiotic Interactions
Symbiotic interactions can promote increased survival and reduced stress, allowing participants involved to be more successful in ecosystems. In particular, symbiotic interactions of pest insects (many of which are invasive) can promote population increases or alterations to the surrounding community. Understanding how these symbiotic interactions may ecologically facilitate pest insects can inform future management practices.
Population Genetics
While microscopic and macroscopic interactions are important to examine, population genetic information about insect pests also needs to be integrated. The genetic composition of interacting organisms can play a role in the likelihood and intensity of symbiotic interactions. In addition, not all pests that look the same at first glance respond the same to stress or behave as the same pest. By analyzing the genetic composition of pest insects, we can better understand how genetic variation influences symbiotic interactions.