Delighted to announce that Hunter Lab and Ravenscraft Lab have been awarded a USDA NIFA grant to study symbiont transmission constraints and consequences in the bug-Caballeronia symbiosis! We will investigate how (1) environmental acquisition of Caballeronia and (2) variation in the benefits conferred by different Caballeronia strains impact the individual fitness and population dynamics of the leaf-footed bug, Leptoglossus zonatus, which can be a major pest in pomegranate orchards. So excited to continue our collaboration with our good friends in Hunter Lab and, hopefully, to figure out where on earth these bugs do (and don't) get their Caballeronia!
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