What drives rapid evolution? What are the benefits of sex? Why is genetic diversity so high in natural populations?

My research addresses these fundamental problems in evolutionary biology by studying the interactions between parasites and hosts. Parasites are ubiquitous, and their antagonism can be severe and genotype-specific. Thus, host-parasite interactions provide a powerful empirical framework to elucidate the causes and consequences of intra- and interspecific evolutionary changes. Our work focuses on the ecological and genetic aspects of rapid (co)evolution, with particular implications for community interactions, mating systems, and the maintenance of diversity.

My research uses a combination of mathematical modelling, experimental evolution of lab populations, and genetic analysis, experiments, and collections from natural populations. I have worked with many animal-parasite systems. Presently, my group concentrates on the (co)evolutionary interactions in three systems: (1) parasitoid wasp-“male-killing” bacteria, (2) Caenorhabditis elegans-bacteria pathogens, and (3) New Zealand snail-trematode parasites

Ford, S.A., Kao, D., Williams, D., King, K.C. 2016. Microbe-mediated host defence drives the evolution of reduced pathogen virulence. Nature Communications. In press. King, K.C., Brockhurst, M.A., Vasieva, O., Paterson, S., Betts, A., Ford, S.A., Frost, C.L., Horsburgh, M., Haldenby, S., Hurst, G.D.D. 2016. Rapid evolution of microbe-mediated protection against pathogens in a worm host. The ISME Journal 10, 1915-1924. Ford, S.A., King, K.C. 2016. Harnessing the power of defensive microbes: evolutionary implications in nature and disease control. PLoS Pathogens 12, e1005465. Parratt, S.R., Frost, C.L., Schenkel, M.A., Rice, A., Hurst, G.D.D., King, K.C. 2016. Superparasitism drives heritable symbiont epidemiology and host sex ratio in a wasp. PLoS Pathogens 12, e1005629. Betts, A., Gifford, D., MacLean, R.C., King, K.C. 2016. Parasite diversity drives rapid host dynamics and evolution of resistance in a bacteria-phage system. Evolution 70, 969-978. Ashby, B, King, K.C. 2015. Diversity and the maintenance of sex by parasites. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 28, 511-520.