Research Groups

Addressing the evolution of host-parasite interactions is key from both a fundamental and an applied viewpoint, given the strong selection pressure they pose and their effect on agriculture and animal and human health.

Our research group uses the experimental power of ectoparasitic spider mites and their host plants to address key pending issues pertaining to the evolution of such interactions.

In the coming years, the group will expand knowledge on this topic in two main directions:

We will explore the impact of trait variation on the interaction between spider mites and their host plant and on coinfections. Specifically, we will ask how variation in the interaction of spider mites with plant defences affect their persistence and how variation in competitive ability and reproductive interference affect the probability of coinfections;
We will investigate how evolution shapes the interaction among spider mites, and with their host plant. We will use experimental evolution to unravel how adaptation to organic or metal-based plant defences affects coinfection patterns and, conversely, how evolving under coinfections affect the evolutionary trajectories of these ectoparasites.

To fulfil these aims, the group will collaborate with other TL2 groups, namely Evolutionary Agroecology (EA) and Adaptation to Complex Environments (ACE), which use the same study system to address complementary issues, with Local Adaptation in Drosophila (LAD), experts in experimental evolution and with Evolutionary Genomics and Bioinformatics (EGB) for genomic analyses.

Furthermore, given the impact of parasites on human and ecosystem health our research resonates with TL3, and we collaborate with Genotype to Phenotype of the Immune Response (G2PiR), with expertise in parasitism at a functional level. Our research also connects TL1 and 4, given the ecological and environmental role of spider mites and their host plants. The group also relies on a set of excellent external collaborators.

HPI Team