Biological Sciences

LSU researcher Laura Lagomarsino will study how tropical flowers evolve with support from a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award. Focusing on wild coffee plants in Colombia, her research explores how shifts in pollinators and environmental conditions drive repeated transitions from small, white flowers to bright, showy blooms across multiple species.

Metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes are increasingly linked to shifts in the gut microbiome, but scientists still don't fully understand how combinations of microbes influence the body's endocrine system. Supported by a five-year NIH R35 award, LSU biological scientist Fan Zhang studies how defined microbial communities work together to regulate insulin signaling along the gut-brain axis. Using the microscopic worm C. elegans as a controlled model, his lab identifies microbial metabolites that activate endocrine pathways, aiming to clarify how microbiome composition and hormone signaling interact to shape metabolic health.

A recent study led by LSU Assistant Professor Jiaqi Tan, published in Nature Communications, shows how competition between species alters how plants and animals grow, reproduce, and behave. By examining results from hundreds of studies worldwide, the researchers found that as competition increases, average performance often declines, but individuals within a species become more varied and flexible. These findings help scientists better understand--and predict--how ecosystems will respond to challenges like climate change, shrinking habitats, and invasive species.