Investigation of Mammalian Ecology Using Stable Isotopes Analyses
By: Jordan Claytor (Wilson Mantilla Lab)

The effects of horizontal gene transfer on the evolution of proteins encoded on mobile genetic elements
By: Olivia Kosterlitz (Kerr Lab)

Confined epidermal cells mimic in vivo migration and reveal volume-speed relationship
By: Ellie Labuz (Theriot Lab)

Functional Evolution of a Meristem Identity Gene
By: Hannah McConnell (Di Stilio Lab)

Towards a phylo(genetic) understanding of avian iridescence
By: Yasmeen Erritouni (Leaché Lab)

Intraspecific morphological variation in the widely distributed least chipmunk (Tamias minimus)
By: Donavan Jackson (Santana Lab)

Exploring the Potential Roles of FLP1 as a Shade-Induced Systemic Developmental Signal
By: Andy Hempton (Imaizumi Lab)

The feeding biomechanics of nectarivorous birds
By: David Cuban (Rico-Guevara Lab)

In bacteria, plasmids can move horizontally between cells of the same and different species through the process of conjugation. When a plasmid imposes a fitness cost on its bacterial host, a sufficiently high level of conjugation is required to maintain the extrachromosomal element in the population (effectively as a molecular parasite). For costly plasmids with low conjugation rates, their long-term persistence presents a paradox. Prime examples of this paradoxical persistence concern plasmids that house antibiotic resistance genes, which can be costly in the absence of antibiotics.