March 2022: Gophna: Understanding locust swarms
Prof. Uri Gophna, Edmond J. Safra member, among researchers who published a study that discovered what causes solitary, harmless insects to form huge migrating swarms.
A study by scientists from TAU and the University of Haifa discovered what causes solitary, harmless insects to radically change their behavior and form huge migrating swarms.
Following recent studies indicating that microbiomes can influence their hosts’ social behavior, the researchers found that the microbiome of a solitary locust undergoes a profound change when the host joins a group. Bacteria called Weissella, almost completely absent from the microbiome of solitary locusts, become dominant in the gregarious phase. Moreover, a specially developed mathematical model indicates that swarming provides these bacteria with potential evolutionary advantages, allowing them to spread and infect large numbers of locusts.
Prof. Uri Gophna, Edmond J. Safra member (Life Sciences) co-advised the PhD student leading the research and supervised the microbial ecology part, including computational analysis of the microbial community composition in the locusts.
Prof. Ayali, School of Zoology, TAU, who led the research, was interviewed to the online newspaper Israel21c.
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