Today's Messages

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “The Epigenetic Road to High-society: plasticity of caste identity and longevity in ants”, presented by Dr. Karl Glastad at 3:00 p.m. in SAMC 151. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies leading up to the seminar.

Research Seminar Abstract: The ability to respond adaptively to the environment is a fundamentally important trait of all complex life.  Ants provide exceptional natural models within which to study both developmental and adult plasticity: within colonies different classes of individuals (castes) display drastically different behaviors and lifespans that are not genetically determined.  Here I will summarize findings identifying an epigenetic-hormonal circuit controlling worker-specific foraging behavior centered on the insect blood-brain barrier, as well as ongoing work in my lab focused on understanding the dramatic lifespan plasticity seen in ants.