Research interests
Viruses
Worldwide, viral diseases spread by parasitic Varroa mites are a leading cause of honey bee hive mortality. The global spread of Varroa mites has caused decreased honey bee health and increased colony losses throughout most of the beekeeping world. Australia is the last major beekeeping nation in the world that remains free of Varroa and the virulent strains of RNA viruses associated with it.

Madeleine Beekman and I are interested in understanding how a vector can change the viral landscape of honey bee viruses and select for virulence. We aim to understand host-parasite dynamics between honey bees, Varroa mites and viruses, and to understand the change in viral landscape that occurs when honey bees are infected with mites. We use RNA sequencing and in-hive experiments to investigate the dynamics of viral evolution, transmission, and resistance in honey bees.

DNA methylation
In honey bees, the epigenetic mark of DNA methylation determines whether a female larvae becomes a queen or a worker, but methylation is likely to be involved in other biological functions. Together with Ben Oldroyd, I am examining DNA methylation in maternal and paternal genomes. Our goal is to investigate the impact of epigenetic changes on genomic conflict and to determine if parental imprinting occurs in honey bees. We use molecular and genomic techniques to examine methylation patterns in different honey bee castes, lifestages and tissues.