Astrid Groot

Research Assistant Professor

840 Method Road
Campus Box 7634
Raleigh, NC USA 27695-7634
Phone: 919.515.1651
Fax: 919.515.2824
Email: astrid_groot@ncsu.edu

EDUCATION

1995 MSc in Biology, University of Amsterdam
2000 PhD in Entomology, Wageningen Unversity

Links

Dr. Groot's Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Groot Lab

Program Area: Insect Ecology and Behavior

RESEARCH (100%)

My main research interest is to understand speciation through premating signals. Sexual communication between the sexes can be visual (e.g. humans), auditory (e.g. birds) and/or chemical (e.g. insects). In moths, females produce and emit a species-specific chemical signal, i.e. a sex pheromone, to which only males of the same species are attracted. A change in the signal reduces her attraction and thus her chance to get mated and produce offspring. Therefore, a change in the mating signal can only evolve when male response changes concurrently. However, moth female signals and the male responses seem to be two separate traits that are controlled by independent sets of genes. Therefore, it is a challenge to understand how communication channels can change. Such an understanding may give us insight into the process of speciation.

Current Research Programs

1. Assessing intraspecific, geographic variation in the pheromone communication of Heliothis virescens and Heliothis subflexa
2. Assessing the role of pheromone components versus pheromone compounds.

Research Interests

1. Phylogenetic relationship between species and their pheromone composition
2. Finding genes responsible for differences in biosynthetic pathways of pheromone components
3. Effects of single versus multiple matings on pheromone communication, fecundity and fitness
4. Sperm competition and female choice