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Dr. Nancy A. Moran, Regents' Professor

Positions and Education
Regents' Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 2001-present
Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 1996-present
Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 1991-1996
Associate Professor, Entomology, University of Arizona, 1986-1991
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, Northern Arizona University, 1984-1986

Ph.D., Zoology, University of Michigan, 1982
M.S., Zoology, University of Michigan, 1978
B.A., Biology, University of Texas, 1976


Honors and Awards

College of Science Galileo Fellow 2007
dotAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected 2006
dotElected to the National Academy of Sciences, 2004
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow, 1997-2002
American Society of Naturalists President's Award for the best paper published in The American Naturalist during 1988
Vice President American Society of Naturalists (2001)
University of Arizona Regents' Professor
President, Society for the Study of Evolution (2002)


Research Interests
Currently, Nancy Moran's primary research focus concerns the genome level evolution of prokaryotic, mutualistic endosymbionts within animal hosts, especially insects. By studying the full genome sequences of these bacteria, their contributions to host ecology and evolution can be evaluated. In addition, she is interested generally in the evolution of bacterial genomes and the use of genomic approaches to study ecological roles of non-cultivable bacteria.

Visit Nancy Moran's website.

PubMed list of publications for Nancy Moran
Selected Publications
  1. Moran, N.A. 2001. Bacterial menageries inside insects. (Commentary). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 292: 1096-1098.

  2. Wernegreen, J.J. and N.A. Moran. 2001. Evolution of a bacterial-plasmid association with strict vertical transmission: biosynthetic plasmids of aphid symbionts. Journal of Bacteriology 183: 785-790.

  3. Funk, D.J., Wernegreen, J.J., and N.A. Moran. 2001 Intraspecific polymorphism in symbiont genomes: bottlenecks and the aphid-Buchnera association. Genetics 157: 477-489.

  4. Sandstrom, J.P., Russell, J. A., White, J.P., and N.A. Moran. 2001. Independent origins and horizontal transfer of bacterial symbionts of aphids. Molecular Ecology 10: 217-228.

  5. Moran, N. A., J. A. Russell, T. Fukatsu, and R. Koga.2005. Evolutionary relationships of three new species of Enterobacteriaceae living as symbionts of aphids and other insects. Applied and Environmental Microbiology  71: 3302-3310.

  6. Lerat, E., V. Daubin, H. Ochman, and N. A. Moran. 2005. Evolutionary origins of genomic repertoires in bacteria. PloS-Biology, 3: 807-814.

  7. Moran, N. A., H. E. Dunbar, and J. L. Wilcox. 2005. Regulation of transcription in a reduced bacterial genome: nutrient-provisioning genes of the obligate symbiont, Buchnera aphidicola.  Journal of Bacteriology 187: 4229-4237.

  8. Oliver, K. M. N. A. Moran, and M. S. Hunter. 2005. Variation in resistance to parasitism in aphids is due to symbionts  and not host genotype. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 102: 12975-12800. 

  9. Moran, N. A., P. H. Degnan, S. R. Santos, H. E. Dunbar, and H. Ochman.  2005. The players in a mutualistic symbiosis:  Insects, bacteria, viruses and virulence  genes. Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesUSA 102: 16919-16926. 

  10. Moran, N. A., P. Tran, and N. M. Gerardo. 2005. Symbiosis and insect diversification: an ancient symbiont of sap-feeding insects from the bacterial phylum Bacteroidetes Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71: 8802-8810.

  11. Russell, J. A. and N. A. Moran. 2006. Costs and benefits of symbiont infection in aphids: variation among symbionts and across temperatures. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 273: 603-610.

  12. Wu, D., S.C. Daugherty, S. E. Van Aken, G. H. Pai, K. L. Watkins, H. Khouri, L. J. Tallon, J. M. Zaborsky, H. E. Dunbar, P. L.  Tran, N. A. Moran, and J. A. Eisen, 2006. Metabolic complementarity and genomics of the dual symbiosis of sharpshooters. PloS-Biology 4: e188

  13. Wilson, A.C.C., H. E. Dunbar, G. K. Davis, W. B. Hunter, D. L. Stern, and N. A. Moran. 2006. A dual-genome microarray for the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, and its obligate bacterial symbiont, Buchnera aphidicola. BMC Genomics 7: 50

  14. Moran, N. A. and H. E. Dunbar. 2006. Sexual acquisition of beneficial symbionts in aphids. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 103: 12803-12806.

  15. Dale, C. and N. A. Moran. 2006. Molecular mechanisms underlying symbiosis with heritable bacteria. Cell 126: 453-465.

  16. Takiya, D. M., P. Tran, C. H. Dietrich, and N. A. Moran. 2006. Co-cladogenesis spanning three phyla: leafhoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and their dual bacterial symbionts. Molecular Ecology 15: 4175-4191.

  17. Mateos, M., S. J. Catrezana, B. J. Nankivell, A. Estes, T. A. Markow, and N. A. Moran. 2006. Heritable endosymbionts of Drosophila. Genetics 174: 363-376

  18. Nakabachi, A., A. Yamashita, H. Toh, H. Ishikawa, H. E. Dunbar, N. A. Moran, and M. Hattori. 2006. The 160-kb genome of the bacteria endosymbiont Carsonella. Science  314: 267.

  19. Moran, N. A. 2006. Symbiosis (A primer). Current Biology 16: R866-871.

  20. Dunbar, H. E., A.C.C. Wilson, N. R. Ferguson, and N. A. Moran. 2007. Aphid thermal tolerance is governed by a point mutation in bacterial symbionts. PLoS Biology 5:e96

  21. Moran, N. A. 2007. Symbiosis as an adaptive process and source of phenotypic complexity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104: 8627-8633.
Older Publications
  1. Sandström, J., Telang, A. and N. A. Moran. 2000. Nutritional enhancement of host plants by aphids-a comparison of three aphid species on grasses. Journal of Insect Physiology 46: 33-40.

  2. Moran, N. A., and J. J. Wernegreen. 2000. Are mutualism and parasitism irreversible evolutionary alternatives for endosymbiotic bacteria? Insights from molecular phylogenetics and genomics. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15: 321-326

  3. Moran , N. A. and P. Baumann. 2000. Bacterial endosymbionts in animals. Current Opinions in Microbiology 3: 270-275

  4. Rispe, C. and N. A. Moran. 2000. Accumulation of deleterious mutations in endosymbionts: Muller's ratchet with two levels of selection. The American Naturalist 156: 425-441

  5. Clark, M. A., N. A. Moran, P. Baumann and J. J. Wernegreen. 2000. Cospeciation between bacterial endosymbionts (Buchnera) and a recent radiation of aphids (Uroleucon) and pitfalls of testing for phylogenetic congruence. Evolution 54: 517-525

  6. Brynnel, E. A., Kurland, C. G., Andersson, S. G. E., and N. A. Moran. 1998. Evolutionary rates for tuf genes in endosymbionts of aphids. Molecular Biology and Evolution 15:574-582.

  7. Moran, N. A., and A. Telang. 1998. The evolution of bacteriocyte-associated endosymbionts in insects. Bioscience 48: 295-304.

  8. Mira, A. H. Ochman, and N. A. Moran. 1998. Deletional bias and the evolution of bacterial genomes. Trends in Genetics 17: 589-596

  9. Lambert, J. L. and N. A. Moran. 1998. Deleterious mutations destabilize ribosomal RNA of endosymbionts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 95: 4458-4462

  10. Moran, N. A. 1996. Accelerated evolution and Muller's ratchet in endosymbiotic bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 93: 2873-2878
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