Hi, I’m Ellie and I research the role of fruit flies’ yeast consumption in managing disease. I also help improve public communication about evolution, through co-participatory research and citizen science.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are prevalent in fruit flies and provide an interesting evolutionary conundrum. Males can benefit from transferring STIs as they hinder the female’s ability to re- mate, so more offspring have his genes. However, this puts selective pressure on the female to reduce the infection’s impact on her health. This is ‘sexual selection’; sexes within a species competing against each other for individual benefit.

We know that fruit flies drink the alcohol produced by yeast on rotting fruit and we want to understand why. We think this might help protect them from the impacts of an STI. So far, I’ve found that females prefer the yeast species Metschnikowia pulcherrima, used in wine production, just as humans might prefer a particular beer or wine. Consuming this yeast helps them produce more offspring and live longer when infected.

I’m happy to answer any questions regarding my research or PhD life!

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Hi everyone, thanks so much for the questions and interest in my research findings! If you want to keep up to date with this kind of research, please do follow me on Twitter where you'll get the latest updates from me!

I'll be signing off now, but thank you so much again!