Zachlynch/
Zach "Judo Chop" Lynch
Contact
- Zachary R. Lynch
- O. Wayne Rollins Research Center, Room 1083
- 1510 Clifton Road NE
- Atlanta, GA 30306
- zrlynch AT emory DOT edu
Research Interests
- Characterizing anti-parasitic behavioral immune responses
- Investigating evolutionary tradeoffs involving host defenses and life history traits
Study systems
- Drosophila fruit flies and Leptopilina parasitoid wasps
- previous studies have shown that:
- fly larvae use a cellular immune response, melanotic encapsulation, to kill wasp eggs
- adult flies lay fewer eggs in the presence of wasps
- ethanol, which is naturally present in fermenting fruits, appears to attract flies but repel wasps
- I am studying these responses across a broad range of fly/wasp species interactions
- previous studies have shown that:
- Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes and the bacterial pathogen Serratia marcescens
- previous experimental co-evolution experiments have shown that:
- co-evolving worm populations maintain elevated rates of outcrossing
- co-evolving worm populations have increased competitive fitness in pathogen-containing environments
- I am investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying increased competitive fitness
- previous experimental co-evolution experiments have shown that:
Education
- Ph.D. candidate, Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution program at Emory University
- Started September 2011
- Co-advised by Jaap de Roode and Levi Morran
- B.S. Biology, concentration in Ecology and Evolution
- University of Rochester, May 2011
- Conducted undergraduate research in John Jaenike's lab
Publications and presentations
Lynch, Z.R., J.C. de Roode, and T.A. Schlenke. Evolution of defenses against parasitoid wasps in the Drosophila melanogaster subgroup (Talk). Evolution. Raleigh, N.C. June 2014.
Kacsoh, B.Z., Z.R. Lynch, N.T. Mortimer, and T.A. Schlenke. 2013. Fruit flies medicate offspring after seeing parasites. Science 339: 947–950.
Lynch, Z.R., B.Z. Kacsoh, and T.A. Schlenke. Evolution of defenses against parasitoid wasps in the D. melanogaster subgroup (Poster). GSA Drosophila Research Conference. Washington, D.C. April 2013.
Lynch, Z.R., R.L. Unckless, and J. Jaenike. Interactions between bacterial endosymbionts within Drosophila neotestacea (Poster). National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Ithaca, NY. March 2011.
Lynch, Z.R., R.L. Unckless, and J. Jaenike. Endosymbiont interactions in a Drosophila species (Talk). David T. Kearns Center Research Symposium. Rochester, NY. July 2010.
