Nicole M. Gerardo

This study uses comparative genomics to analyze Sympodiorosea fungi, revealing that selective pressures on metabolic genes drive genome evolution and functional diversification in ant-associated fungi.

The paper examines thermal response strategies of two Caballeronia symbiont strains under heat stress, finding that heat-resistant strains prioritize growth-related pathways while heat-vulnerable strains favor stress response mechanisms.

The paper shows that the order of bacterial colonization in squash bugs strongly affects symbiont population establishment, regardless of strain competition or availability.

This study investigates the evolution of secondary metabolism in Escovopsis and related fungi, revealing unique biosynthetic pathways linked to their symbiotic lifestyle with fungus-growing ants.

This study examines immune gene evolution in monarch butterflies, finding that immune genes show varied evolutionary patterns, with signaling genes being conserved and modulation genes showing relaxed selection.

This study examines gene expression in monarch butterflies exposed to toxic and non-toxic milkweeds, finding strong responses to plant toxins but weak responses to parasite infection.