Teets, Nicholas

Laboratory of Dr. Nicholas Teets – The Insect Stress Biology Lab

The Insect Stress Biology Lab specializes in the molecular and physiological adaptations of insects to extreme environments. Our research approach is integrative, and the lab's work spans both the basic principles and potential applications of insect stress biology.

Projects:

Transcriptional Regulation of Extreme Stress Tolerance in an Antarctic Midge

The Antarctic midge is the world's southernmost insect and the only insect endemic to Antarctica. It possesses a suite of adaptations to cope with Antarctica's harsh terrestrial environment. In this project, we are using RNA-seq to identify gene expression networks that are regulated by exposure to a variety of environmental stressors.

Molecular Mechanisms of Diapause in the Corn Rootworm Complex

The underlying mechanisms of diapause in this species complex have not been investigated. Our project will fill this gap by identifying and characterizing genes that regulate diapause in two species of this complex. We will use RNA-seq to profile global gene expression changes before, during, and after diapause.

Research Personnel:

Yuta Kawarasaki, Added 03/23/2021 on LCC, Added on MCC 02/21/2022

Cleverson Lima, Graduate, Added 02/21/2022 on MCC cluster

Melise Lecheta, Postdoc Added on LCC 3/23/2021, Added on MCC 02/21/2022

Emily Nadeau, Grad, Added on LCC 3/23/2021, Added on MCC 02/21/2022

Mizuki Yoshida, Added on MCC 06/16/2022 

Fernan Rodrigo Perez Galvez, Grad, Added on MCC 09/27/2022

Muhammad Noor Ul Ane,  PostDoc, Added on MCC cluster on 07/14/2023, Added on LCC 07/20/2023 

Nicholas Teets, PI

Computational methods:

Read processing, transcriptome assembly, read mapping, annotation and differential expression analysis.

Software:

Trinity, Velvet, BLAST, RSEM, DESeq2