Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Wong Lab
Led by Chun Nin Wong · Entomology and Nematology
What we study
The lab studies how gut microbes affect insect behavior, health, and aging using fruit flies and other insects. They use multi-omics and genetic tools to explore how microbes influence host responses.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Fruit flies
- No coding
- Projects
- 5
- Papers
- 6
Current projects
Microbiome effects on host behavior
Studies how gut microbes affect insect behavior and physiology, using fruit flies and other insects with genetic and multi-omics tools.
Gut microbiome and brain gene networks
How the microbiome shapes brain gene activity across diets and aging.
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Microbial-based host behavior manipulation
Uses chemicals made by gut microbes to change insect behavior, working with fruit flies and other insects.
Project Exploring genetic variations among Haitian Vibrio cholerae strains by comparative genomics analysis
The lab compares genomes of Haitian Vibrio cholerae bacteria collected during and between cholera outbreaks to identify SNP differences, using alignment, variant calling, annotation and manual review to look for patterns of persistence and evolution.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 465
Project Taste sensitivity and consumption responses to sucrose and artificial sweeteners in Drosophila melanogaster and the impact of the microbiome
The lab tested fruit flies’ taste response to sugar, sucralose, and erythritol and measured how much they ate, comparing normal flies with germ‑free flies to see if the gut microbiome changes these behaviors. The student performed the proboscis extension response and capillary feeder assays and analyzed the results.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 306
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Translocation of gut bacteria promotes tumor-associated mortality by inducing immune-activated renal damage
2026 · UNC Libraries
- Rare Taxa and Stochastic Drift Drive the Microbiome Assembly of the Invasive Pest Drosophila suzukii, While Host Filtering Structures the Grape Sour Rot Community
2026 · Microbial Ecology
Shows how rare bacteria and fungi shape the microbiome of invasive flies and sour-rot grapes.
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- Co-variation of insecticide resistance and host-microbe gene expression in geographically distant populations of German cockroaches (Blattodea: Blattellidae)
2026 · Journal of Economic Entomology
Tests whether insecticide resistance in cockroaches varies across different populations.
- Microbiome composition and co-occurrence dynamics in wild Drosophila suzukii are influenced by host crop, fly sex, and sampling location
2025 · Microbiology Spectrum
Finds that fly gut bacteria vary by crop, sex, and location.
- Systematic analysis of nutrient-microbiome interactions and their effects on host phenotypes in Drosophila
2025 · mBio
Studies how diet and gut bacteria affect fruit fly traits like metabolism and reproduction.
- Taste sensitivity and consumption responses to sucrose and artificial sweeteners in Drosophila melanogaster and the impact of the microbiome.
2025 · UF Journal of Undergraduate Research
Compares how flies with and without gut bacteria respond to different sweeteners.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Chun Nin Wong hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.