I am a member of the Taylor lab at the University of Virginia in my second year in the Ph.D. program.  My interests are in the evolution and population genetics of plant secondary metabolism.

I am currently working with the genus Silene (Caryophyllaceae, Pink family) to understand the evolution of flavonoids and their role in floral color and herbivory.

The flavonoid pathway produces many subgroups of flavonoids and can be considered as an integrated phenotype.  I am interested in the flavones, isoflavones, flavonol glycosides, and anthocyanins produced in the Silene genus and how this may affect adaptive and competitive abilities among the various species.

Flavonoid Expression Patterns

A series of studies conducted by Mastenbroek and colleages (1983, 1984) discovered variable flavonoid production in Silene latifolia among populations in Europe.  I am currently using HPLC and gene expression techniques to determine which genes are responsible for the variable production of the flavonoids within and between S. latifolia and S. vulgaris, and if there is any effect of population structure on the distribution of flavotypes.

The Evolution of Floral Color in Silene

Floral color is not monophyletic in Silene species.  I am currently sequencing regulatory and structural genes in the anthocyanin pathway among the Silene species to explore this topic.

Flavonoids, Defense, and Herbivory

The literature suggests that some flavonoids play a role in plant defense.  I am currently working with S. latifolia to determine whether flavonoid expression is related to defense with selective breeding and herbivory bioassays with the Fourlined Plant Bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus, Miridae).