Evolution And Ecological Genetics of Plants And Herbivores

Evolution And Ecological Genetics of Plants And Herbivores
(Project Manager: Rafael Bello Bedoy, Ph.D)

The defense of plants against herbivores is one of the classic models of coevolution. Currently we use Datura – Lema, Yucca-Pollinator, Wild Chile-herbivore as models to understand the genetic bases of resistance and tolerance, constitutive defenses in induced, to defend against herbivorous insects. This project uses experimental strategies in laboratories and greenhouses and to examine the evolutionary process at a geographical and organismic level. We also study population genetics and their phylogeography to explain the history of the species co-evolution process. I collaborate with researchers from UABC, CICESE and UNAM to study these and more organisms such as: shrimp (Branchinecta sp.), Scorpions (Centruroides sp.), And chagas bug (Dipetalogaster maxima) to understand how biological diversity interactions and the general environment.