User profiles for Kirsten I. Verster

Kirsten Isabel Verster

University of California - Berkeley
Verified email at berkeley.edu
Cited by 235

Genome editing retraces the evolution of toxin resistance in the monarch butterfly

…, SC Groen, F Sumbul, JN Pelaez, KI Verster… - Nature, 2019 - nature.com
Identifying the genetic mechanisms of adaptation requires the elucidation of links between
the evolution of DNA sequence, phenotype, and fitness 1 . Convergent evolution can be used …

Evolution of insect innate immunity through domestication of bacterial toxins

KI Verster, G Cinege, Z Lipinszki… - Proceedings of the …, 2023 - National Acad Sciences
Toxin cargo genes are often horizontally transferred by phages between bacterial species
and are known to play an important role in the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis. Here, we …

Horizontal transfer of bacterial cytolethal distending toxin B genes to insects

KI Verster, JH Wisecaver, M Karageorgi… - Molecular Biology …, 2019 - academic.oup.com
Horizontal gene transfer events have played a major role in the evolution of microbial species,
but their importance in animals is less clear. Here, we report horizontal gene transfer of …

Evolution of olfactory receptors tuned to mustard oils in herbivorous Drosophilidae

…, P Brand, K Miao, HC Suzuki, KI Verster… - Molecular biology …, 2022 - academic.oup.com
The diversity of herbivorous insects is attributed to their propensity to specialize on toxic plants.
In an evolutionary twist, toxins betray the identity of their bearers when herbivores coopt …

Evolution of herbivory remodels a Drosophila genome

…, RT Lapoint, B Goldman-Huertas, KI Verster… - Biorxiv, 2019 - biorxiv.org
One-quarter of extant Eukaryotic species are herbivorous insects, yet the genomic basis of
this extraordinary adaptive radiation is unclear. Recently-derived herbivorous species hold …

Evolution and genomic basis of the plant-penetrating ovipositor: a key morphological trait in herbivorous Drosophilidae

…, JLM Charboneau, KI Verster… - … of the Royal …, 2022 - royalsocietypublishing.org
Herbivorous insects are extraordinarily diverse, yet are found in only one-third of insect
orders. This skew may result from barriers to plant colonization, coupled with phylogenetic …

Evolution of chemosensory and detoxification gene families across herbivorous Drosophilidae

…, G Pimentel-Solorio, KI Verster… - G3: Genes …, 2023 - academic.oup.com
Herbivorous insects are exceptionally diverse, accounting for a quarter of all known eukaryotic
species, but the genomic basis of adaptations that enabled this dietary transition remains …

Horizontal transfer of microbial toxin genes to gall midge genomes

KI Verster, RL Tarnopol, SM Akalu… - Genome Biology and …, 2021 - academic.oup.com
A growing body of evidence has underscored the role of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in
animal evolution. Previously, we discovered the horizontal transfer of the gene encoding the …

Evolution and genetic basis of the plant-penetrating ovipositor, a key adaptation in herbivorous Drosophilidae

…, AD Gloss, JF Ray, JLM Charboneau, KI Verster… - bioRxiv, 2020 - biorxiv.org
Herbivorous insects are extraordinarily diverse, yet are found in only one-third of insect
orders. This skew may be driven by barriers to plant colonization coupled with phylogenetic …

Insights into the evolution of herbivory from a leaf-mining, drosophilid fly

JM Aguilar, AD Gloss, HC Suzuki, KI Verster, M Singhal… - bioRxiv, 2022 - biorxiv.org
Herbivorous insects and their host plants comprise most known species on Earth. Illuminating
how herbivory repeatedly evolved in insects from non-herbivorous lineages is critical to …