Skip to main content
Browse by:
GROUP

Emergent microbiome interactions shape physiology of Drosophila fruit flies

Event Image
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
William Ludington | Bowes Research Fellow, Immunology and Pathogenesis Division, Genetics, Genomics & Development Division, Molecular & Cell Biology Department, UC Berkeley
Biology Department Seminar

Host-associated microbiomes often impact the host's health, with different microbiomes giving alternative health outcomes to the same host. The high complexity of the typical vertebrate microbiome obscures our ability to determine mechanisms of these health impacts. To dissect this complexity, my lab has developed the relatively simple and tractable Drosophila gut microbiome as a model. I will discuss current work from my lab on colonization of the gut and how microbial interactions shape host fitness. The results provide insights into basic principles of biological organization and strategies for human microbiome engineering.

Will earned his Ph.D. in quantitative cell biology at UCSF in 2011.

Current research: Studies ecological and evolutionary principles of microbiomes using systems biology approaches. His lab uses experiments, theory, and computational approaches to investigate the complex relationship between gut microbial ecology and host health.

Type: LECTURE/TALK