Nancy A. Moran

Research

I am broadly interested in the evolution of bacterial endosymbionts and their eukaryotic hosts. My work on the aphid-Buchnera symbiosis focuses on some of the host innovations that may be involved in regulating intracellular symbiotic bacteria, as well as microbial adaptations for life within host cells. I am using a combination of targeted gene knockdown, mutagenesis-based screens, and proteomic approaches to better understand what host and symbiont genes are important for maintaining stable symbiosis. I am also interested in how insect physiology and development impact symbiont transmission and how these factors then shape endosymbiont evolution. .

Keywords

molecular evolution, coevolution, symbiosis, entomology

education

• University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology (2019-present)
• University of Rochester, B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2013-2017)

Publications

Maeda, G.P.*, Iannello, M.*, McConie, H.J., Fabrizio, G., Havird J.C. 2021. Relaxed selection on male mitochondrial genes in DUI bivalves eases the need for mitonuclear coevolution. J Evol Biol. 2021 Sep 17. doi: 10.1111/jeb.13931. [Online ahead of print]

Perreau, J., Zhang, B., Maeda, G.P., Kirkpatrick, M., Moran, N.A. 2021. Strong within-host selection in a maternally inherited obligate symbiont: Buchnera and aphids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 118(35):e2102467118.

Perreau, J., Patel, D.J., Anderson, H., Maeda, G.P., Elston, K.M., Barrick, J.E. and Moran, N.A., 2021. Vertical transmission at the pathogen-symbiont interface: Serratia symbiotica and aphids. Mbio, 12(2).

Elston, K.M., Perreau, J., Maeda, G.P., Moran, N.A. and Barrick, J.E., 2021. Engineering a culturable Serratia symbiotica strain for aphid paratransgenesis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 87(4).

Weaver, R.J., Carrion, G., Nix, R., Maeda, G.P., Rabinowitz, S., Iverson, E.N., Thueson, K. and Havird, J.C., 2020. High mitochondrial mutation rates in Silene are associated with nuclear-mediated changes in mitochondrial physiology. Biology letters, 16(9), p.20200450.

* indicates equal contribution