Travis Johnson (PhD Candidate) 

This project focuses on the hsr-omega (Heat-Shock RNA omega) gene of Drosophila melanogaster and attempts to provide direct evidence for its importance in underlying the natural heat and cold tolerance variation that is observed in this species. The approach employs genetic and molecular tools that include generating transgenic flies that contain different naturally occurring types of hsr-omega. The importance and functional differences between the different hsr-omega types will be evaluated by measuring fitness of these flies in several different tests of resistance to both heat and cold stress.