Title of Submission
Degree Program
Biology, MS
Major Advisor Name
Merlin White
Type of Submission
Scholarly Poster
Abstract
Trichomycetes is an ecological group of microfungi that colonize the digestive tract of certain Arthropoda. Zancudomyces culisetae, a prominent member of this group, inhabits the hindguts of multiple dipteran larval hosts, including the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti. Recently, a vast community of microbes has been discovered in the digestive tract of larval and adult A. aegypti. This microbiome affects host fitness, and is required for larval development. I propose laboratory investigations that will explore the potential impact that colonization of Z. culisetae has on the microbial community composition and structure of the larval and adult A. aegypti gut microbiome.
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