characterizing Natural isolates
We are using the 100-genomes collection and the 1000 genomes collection, which contain environmental isolates from ecological niches as varied as industrial fermentations, woodlands, and clinical settings, to study multicellular phenotypes, including biofilm formation, and virulence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Natural variation can provide insight into the selective pressures in the environment and help us understand how pathogens arise.
For example, this figure shows the distribution of pseudohyphal growth in the 100-genomes collection in three different environmental conditions.
Computational Simulations
We are using stochastic, individual-based simulations to investigate how non-motile cells with different social strategies influence each other and affect the distribution of cell types in a microbial community. Current simulations are testing: (1) the role of kin recognition in these communities, and (2) the conditions in which a strain that has inducible production of a lethal toxin can infiltrate, destabilize, and disrupt a biofilm.
Cells from two genotypes are randomly placed in the center of a grid and allowed to grow based on the rules of the simulation. In this case, the green genotype has completely dominated the community.
Current Funding
NIH: The evolution and genetics of fungal virulence (2023-26)