Evolution Of Horizontally Transferred Anti-Parasitoid Toxins
Ryan Wang (he/him) (Molecular & Cell Biology) | 2029
Ryan Wang, recipient of a 2026 summer URAP stipend, is a Molecular & Cell Biology student researching how horizontally transferred genes are regulated in fruit flies. Working in the Whiteman Lab, Ryan is studying fusionB, a gene that flies acquired from bacteria and that helps defend against parasitoid wasps. His research focuses on identifying the smallest DNA sequence responsible for regulating the gene, helping researchers better understand how horizontally transferred genes become part of an organism’s existing genetic networks. Through the project, Ryan has also gained hands-on experience in wet-lab research and developed his skills in scientific experimentation and collaboration.
What first drew you to this topic? Was there a moment, class, experience, or question that made you want to learn more?
When I joined the Whiteman lab last year, I was assigned to a “dry lab” (computational) project, mentored by Dr. Rebecca Tarnopol. I looked at the evolution of prophenoloxidase genes in fly family Drosophilidae, which are involved in their immune response against parasitoid wasps. The other half of the project was about the horizontally transferred anti-parasitoid toxin gene cdtB that was co-opted by flies from bacteria. I had never heard of this before (I previously thought horizontal gene transfer was only bacteria-to-bacteria), so it made me curious how it would work! This summer URAP project, supervised by Amulya Aluru, PhD student, involved finding essential regulatory elements driving the expression of a cdtB-containing gene called fusionB in flies.
How would you explain your research to someone who knows nothing about your field?
Basically, we are interested in seeing how this anti-parasitoid fusionB gene is regulated and how it evolved. We know this gene has to be carefully regulated because when it is expressed everywhere, the flies cannot complete development. My mentors previously identified a large region of DNA that regulates the target gene; now, we want to find the smallest sequence of DNA involved (the “minimal enhancer”). We do this by chopping up the large region into sections, inserting these sections into our fruit fly model organisms, and testing which sections are important by seeing if there’s a response to parasitization!
What was the most exciting or rewarding part of working on this project?
The most exciting part of working on this project was learning to be a wet lab scientist. This was the first time I got to work with various biological reagents, culture bacteria, and run reactions. While some actions can be repetitive, interesting events (or challenges) happen and make experimentation more enjoyable, and obviously, a successful reaction/experiment is always rewarding.
What’s something you discovered through your research that surprised you or changed the way you think about the topic?
Evolution of cdtB bridges this fusionB summer project and what I was working on earlier this year. In the process of obtaining data and analyzing results (to be published), I learned a lot from mentors and lab members about evolution and selective forces on both genes and the organisms that have and inherit them. These ideas are actively shaping our understanding of horizontally transferred genes.
Was there a challenge or unexpected moment during your research that really shaped your experience?
One challenge I encountered was DNA contamination in one of my PCR runs. While I never found what the culprit was (water? enzyme? sample?), it was fun theorizing the cause, analyzing what led up to this, and learning from my mistakes. Ultimately, I redid the run, but it was a good exercise in scientific experimentation and motivated me to reorganize my lab bench into the workspace it is now.
What do you hope comes out of this research, whether that’s something you continue exploring or simply something you take with you from the experience?
I hope my experiments help elucidate how horizontally transferred genes are incorporated into existing regulatory networks. Understanding such mechanisms can illuminate how innate immunity defends against animal parasites. We have a lot more experiments planned! For me personally, I have grown my collaborative abilities and scientific thinking, and I hope to keep having fun in the lab. The guidance from my mentors and the experience I am building will shape me as a researcher for years to come.