Erik Ragsdale, an IU biologist, has been awarded a $750,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation.

His research will focus on identifying a genetic mechanism that allows genetically identical species to develop totally different characteristics based on their environment.

The worm species in the IU study, Pristionchus pacificus, can develop different types of mouths, despite possessing the same genome, based on their environment.

Likewise, if they live and grow in an overcrowded or starved environment with limited resources, they will grow a wide mouth with large, moveable teeth, which allows them to consume other worms.

As a postdoctoral researcher at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in 2013, Ragsdale was part of the team that first discovered the gene that acts as the switch in these worms, according to an IU press release, triggering the “irreversible decision” determining how the worms will feed during their lifespan. Both groups will get the chance to contribute to the research through the Jim Holland Summer Science Research ProgramTT, an intensive, weeklong research training program for underrepresented high school students pursuing careers in STEM, and the IU Biology Summer Science Institute, which pairs high school science teachers with IU researchers to develop classroom curriculum based on University research.

Taylor Telford