Nancy Moran Yale University

Research

My long-term interests are in the evolution of biological complexity, such as that apparent in complex life histories, in intimate interactions among species, and in species-diversity of clades and communities.

My focus is on symbiosis, particularly that between multicellular hosts and microbes.

Education

B.A. Highest Honors, Biology, 1976 University of Texas
M.S., Zoology, 1978 University of Michigan
Ph.D., Zoology, 1982 University of Michigan (Dissertation advisors: William D. Hamilton and Richard D. Alexander)

Professional History

National Acad. Sciences Fellow, 1984, Inst. of Entomology, Czechoslovakia
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1984-86, Northern Arizona University
Assistant Professor, 1986-91, University of Arizona
Associate Professor, 1991-96, University of Arizona
Professor, 1996-2000, University of Arizona
Regents’ Professor, 2000-2010, University of Arizona
William H. Fleming Professor, May 2010-, Yale University

Publications (last two years)

Full publication list

Engel P, Moran NA. 2013. The gut microbiota of insects - diversity in structure and function. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2013 May 21. [Epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1111/1574-6976.12025.

Engel P, Kwong WK, Moran NA. 2013. Frischella perrara gen. nov., sp. nov., a gammaproteobacterium isolated from the gut of the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2013 Apr 19. [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.049569-0

Vogel KJ, Moran NA. 2013. Functional and evolutionary analysis of the genome of an obligate fungal symbiont. Genome Biol Evol. 5: 891-904. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evt054

Sloan DB, Moran NA. 2013. The evolution of genomic instability in the obligate endosymbionts of whiteflies. Genome Biol Evol. 5: 783-93. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evt044

Nováková E, Hypša V, Klein J, Foottit RG, Dohlen CD, Moran NA. 2013. Reconstructing the phylogeny of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) using DNA of the obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 68: 42-54. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.03.016

Koga R, Bennett G, Cryan JR, Moran NA. 2013. Evolutionary replacement of obligate symbionts in an ancient and diverse insect lineage. Environ Microbiol. 2013 Mar 27. [Epub ahead of print] DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12121

Engel P, Moran NA. 2013. Functional and evolutionary insights into the simple yet specific gut microbiota of the honey bee from metagenomic analysis. Gut Microbes 4: 1-6. doi: 10.4161/gmic.22517

Kwong WK, Moran NA. 2013. Cultivation and characterization of the gut symbionts of honey bees and bumble bees: Snodgrassella alvi gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the Neisseriaceae family of the Betaproteobacteria; and Gilliamella apicola gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of Orbaceae fam. nov., Orbales ord. nov., a sister taxon to the Enterobacteriales order of the Gammaproteobacteria. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 63: 2008-2018. doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.044875-0

Sabree ZL, Huang CY, Okusu A, Moran NA, Normark BB. 2012. The nutrient supplying capabilities of Uzinura, an endosymbiont of armoured scale insects. Environ Microbiol. 2012 Nov 29.[Epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.12058.

Tian B, Fadhil NH, Powell JE, Kwong WK, Moran NA. 2012. Long-term exposure to antibiotics has caused accumulation of resistance determinants in the gut microbiota of honeybees. mBio 3(6):e00377-12. doi:10.1128/mBio.00377-12

Sloan DB, Moran NA. 2012. Endosymbiotic bacteria as a source of carotenoids in whiteflies. Biol Lett. 28: 986-989. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0664

Huang CY, Sabree ZL, Moran NA. 2012. Genome Sequence of Blattabacterium sp. Strain BGIGA, Endosymbiont of the Blaberus giganteus Cockroach. J Bacteriol. 194: 4450-4451. doi:10.1128/JB.00789-12

Sloan DB, Moran NA. 2012. Genome reduction and co-evolution between the primary and secondary bacterial symbionts of psyllids. Mol Bio Evol. 29: 3781-3792. doi: 10.1093/molbev/mss180

Sabree ZL, Hansen AK, Moran NA. 2012. Independent Studies Using Deep Sequencing Resolve the Same Set of Core Bacterial Species Dominating Gut Communities of Honey Bees. PLoS ONE 7(7): e41250. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041250

Engel P, Martinson VG, Moran NA. 2012. Functional diversity within the simple gut microbiota of the honey bee. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 109: 11002-11007. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1202970109

Hansen AK, Moran NA. 2012. Altered tRNA characteristics and 3' maturation in bacterial symbionts with reduced genomes. Nucleic Acids Res. 40: 7870–7884. doi: 10.1093/nar/gks503

Moran NA, Hansen AK, Powell JE, Sabree ZL. 2012. Distinctive Gut Microbiota of Honey Bees Assessed Using Deep Sampling from Individual Worker Bees. PLoS ONE 7(4): e36393. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036393

Martinson VG, Moy J, Moran NA. 2012. Establishment of characteristic gut bacteria during development of the honey bee worker. 2012. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 78: 2830-2840. doi: 10.1128/AEM.07810-11

Hansen AK, Vorburger C, Moran NA. 2012. Genomic basis of endosymbiont-conferred protection against an insect parasitoid. Genome Res. 22:106-114. doi: 10.1101/gr.125351.111

Sabree ZL, Huang CY, Arakawa G, Tokuda G, Lo N, Watanabe H, Moran NA. 2012. Genome shrinkage and loss of nutrient-providing potential in the obligate symbiont of the primitive termite Mastotermes darwiniensis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 78: 204-210. doi: 10.1128/ AEM.06540-11

Nováková E, Moran NA. 2012. Diversification of genes for carotenoid biosynthesis in aphids following an ancient transfer from a fungus. Mol Bio Evol. 1: 313-323. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msr206

NANCY MORAN

Research

Education

Professional History

Publications (last two years)