- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
His seminar is from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall.
“Insects and other arthropods are infected with maternally transmitted endosymbionts,” Jaenike says in his abstract. “ Some of these symbionts spread and persist by manipulating host reproduction in various ways. However, many have no such effects, and the means by which they are retained within species is unknown. We recently found that Drosophila neotestacea carries endosymbiotic Spiroplasma bacteria, which render female flies resistant to the sterilizing effects of nematode parasitism."
"The prevalence of Spiroplasma infection in D. neotestacea increased rapidly in eastern North America in recent decades, and it is now spreading rapidly from east to west across North American. Coincident with the increase in Spiroplasma infection has been a dramatic decline in the prevalence of nematode parasitism, due, we believe, to the much lower reproductive output of nematodes that parasitize Spiroplasma-infected flies. We microinjected Spiroplasma into several other Drosophila species; the infections quickly stabilized with high levels of maternal transmission. In one species, D. putrida, Spiroplasma rendered flies resistant to the sterilizing effects of nematode parasitism. Finally, we microinjected various strains Spiroplasma obtained from other Drosophila species into D. neotestacea and found that only the strain native to D. neotestacea confers any resistance to nematode parasites.
Jaenike, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAA), focuses his research on host-parasite interactions, heritable endosymbionts, and ecology of Drosophila.
He received his bachelor of arts degree in biology from Amherst College in 1971 and his doctorate in biology from Princeton University in 1975. His faculty positions include State University of New York (SUNY), 1979-1983; University of Rochester, 1983-1999; University of Arizona, 1999-2001; and University of Rochester, 2001-present.
A few of his publications:
Early career
Jaenike, J. 1978. On optimal oviposition behavior in phytophagous insects. Theoretical Population Biology 14:350-356.
Jaenike, J. 1978. An hypothesis to account for the maintenance of sex within populations. Evolutionary Theory 3:191-194.
Mid-career
Jaenike, J. 1986. Genetic complexity of host selection behavior in Drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. USA 83:2148-2151.
Jaenike, J. 1990. Host specialization in phytophagous insects. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 21:243-273.
Jaenike, J. 1992. Mycophagous Drosophila and their nematode parasites. American Naturalist 139: 893-906.
Later in career
Dyer, K. A. and J. Jaenike. 2004. Evolutionarily stable infection by a male-killing endosymbiont in Drosophila innubila: molecular evidence from the host and parasite genomes. Genetics 168: 1443-1455.
Jaenike, J., K. A. Dyer, C. Cornish, and M. S. Minhas. 2006. Asymmetrical reinforcement and Wolbachia infection in Drosophila. PLoS Biology 4: 1852-1862.
Jaenike, J., R. L. Unckless, S. N. Cockburn, L. M. Boelio, and S. J. Perlman. 2010. Adaptation via symbiosis: recent spread of a defensive symbiont in Drosophila. Science 329: 212-215.
Plans call for video-recording the seminar for later posting on UCTV.