Gene drive resistance paper in Genetics (and a cover!)

Philipp Messer, Andy Clark and I have a new paper out in Genetics about the evolution of resistance to gene drives (specifically CRISPR drives).  Philipp should get most of the credit for this work.  In the paper, we find that resistance is almost inevitable in a simple, single gRNA gene drive system. Our results build on several previous papers showing resistance was likely, by using the branching process machinery derived by Uecker and Hermisson (2011 - here) for the probability of fixation of alleles in changing environments.  After the paper was accepted, I contacted Kent Smith, a friend who I met at the Lawrence Library Lego Club, about designing a cover.  He took the idea and ran with it and now we have "The Attack of the 50 Foot Mosquito," quite a departure from the standard Genetics cover!

Kent Smith's cover art

Recruiting students for Drosophila genetics (and beyond)

The University of Kansas has a contingent of Drosophila geneticists including Justin Blumenstiel, Jenny Gleason, Stuart Macdonald, me, Rob Ward and Jamie Walters (who actually studies butterflies but asking similar questions).  Our strengths are in evolutionary genetics and development.  We span two departments: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (application deadline 12/1) and Molecular Biosciences (application deadline 12/15).  Please check out our website: kuflygroup.weebly.com or contact me for more information.

Sarah Mullinax tries out Drosophila

Sarah is a first year graduate student in Molecular Biosciences in the Microbiology program.  She comes to us from Wartburg College in Iowa.  While in the lab, Sarah is working with flies and synthesized peptides to characterize the function of putative antimicrobial peptides in Drosophila.  

Congratulations Tom Hill!

Tom is the recipient of Max Kade Fellowship for his proposal entitled “'The pathogenicity and host response of Drosophila innubila Nudivirus.”  The goal is to establish Drosophila innubila nudivirus (DiNV) as the DNA virus model for Drosophila.  This work will allow us to understand how other DNA viruses, such as Herpes viruses and Pox viruses, interact with the host, so we can better understand these human diseases.  Tom is also the recipient of an Austrian Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy Award for Excellence 2016 for his doctoral dissertation entitled 'Hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila simulans associated with a rapid global invasion of the P-element.”

http://maxkadefoundation.org/