>>> Our study of the underlying mechanisms and relevance of Wolbachia-induced sex allocation distortion (Sd) in haplodiploids has been published this summer in Heredity! GO TO ARTICLE! Sd is an often neglected symbiont-mediated reproductive phenotype in haplodiploids. We show that Wolbachia-mediated Sd is driven by increasing egg provisioning, facilitating egg fertilization and subsequent female development. This physiological effect is contingent on the female host genotype and can cause larger adult offspring. Our simulations show that Sd is able to remove the threshold for Wolbachia invasion under certain realistic conditions.
>>> Presented the group's ongoing work at ECE 2023 (Greece).
>>> Presented the group's ongoing work at ECE 2023 (Greece).
>>> Lennert and Kobe started their labwork for their master dissertation. Lennert is dissecting the role of ecology in postzygotic isolation in Tetranychus mites, while Kobe is studying the microbial community of ants and myrmecophilous beetles.