University of Florida
Spring 2025 Semester (16 weeks)
PI: Dr. Elizabeth Cash & Dr. Anthony Auletta
Funding awarded through University of Florida course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE)
The University of Florida, Entomology & Nematology Dept., The University of Florida, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment.
Ants, among other social insects, utilize cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in intercolonial pheromone communication and kin recognition [1]. CHCs also protect ants from desiccation by creating a hydrophobic barrier around the cuticle [2]. There have been targeted studies investigating how temperature affects genes in other insects, but there is a gap in the research regarding more widespread climatic variation across several ant species [3]. Current literature suggests that both desaturase (Desat) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene families are involved in desiccation resistance and temperature regulation in insects [4, 5]. In a rapidly changing global climate that threatens biodiversity, it is more important than ever to understand how ants survive in their respective environments.
My CURE research group focused on the phylogenetic gene expression differences between ants from 3 different climate ranges (temperate, tropical, and arid). Although we found no significant statistical difference in our tests, we suspect this was due to the small sample size.