About

Rob Dunn is the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs at NC State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Connecticut, obtained in 2003. His research focuses on the species around us in our everyday lives, particularly those that are poorly or totally unknown. In his lab, he studies various species, including fungi, insects, and other organisms, often exploring the biodiversity present in common environments such as backyards, bedrooms, or even on roommates. Dunn's work involves both direct scientific investigation and collaboration with students and researchers to facilitate discoveries. He also writes about the world around us, sharing stories of scientists who study species, organs, cells, genes, and ecosystems that influence daily life. Surrounded by biologists studying diverse topics—from prairie voles and rare butterflies to dinosaurs and fungal farming beetles—Dunn emphasizes the serendipitous and multifaceted nature of science. His contributions aim to deepen understanding of the hidden biodiversity that impacts human life and to promote interdisciplinary exploration within the field of ecology.

Research topics

• Biology
• Sociology
• Ecology
• Mathematics
• Evolutionary biology
• Genetics
• Political Science
• Business
• Food science
• Social Science
• Archaeology
• History
• Bioinformatics
• Law
• Statistics
• Natural resource economics
• Zoology
• Neuroscience
• Physics
• Economics
• Biotechnology
• Public relations
• Development economics
• Demography

Selected publications

• Making Sensing Holobiont: art-science-STS for transdisciplinarity

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• On the evolution of the species complex Pachycondyla chinensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae), including the origin of its invasive form and description of a new species

  The Catalogue of Life · 2026-02-16

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Two <i>Metschnikowia</i> nectar yeast species have similar volatile profiles but elicit differential foraging in bee pollinators

  Ecological Entomology · 2026-01-24

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Nectar yeasts are a highly specialized group of fungi that may play key roles in pollination ecology. Nectar yeasts lack an independent dispersal mechanism to access new habitats with fresh resources. Yeasts, bumble bee pollinators and flowering plants likely take part in a series of diffuse mutualisms, wherein yeast attract bees that provide phoretic travel between flowers. This interaction is thought to provide bees with improved foraging efficiency and plants with increased pollinator visitation and associated pollination services. However, the underlying mechanisms driving bee pollinator preferences for nectar with yeast and differences among yeast species in eliciting pollinator behavior are relatively unexplored. We used an integrative approach to elucidate the underpinnings of bee pollinator preference for nectars that contain yeasts. We conducted a survey of local flower nectar for presence and species diversity of yeast. Using two prominent, local nectar yeast species ( Metschnikowia reukaufii and Metschnikowia koreensis ), we conducted observational field trials to ascertain the effects of the presence and identity of nectar yeast on bee visitation rates. We also analyzed the volatile profiles of both yeast species to explore if olfactory cues were associated with differential foraging behavior. We found that M. reukaufii was the most common nectar yeast in our study area in the southeastern United States, as did previously published global surveys. Intriguingly, we found co‐occurrence of multiple yeast species in 22% of nectar samples, all of which contained M. reukaufii and another yeast typically from the Metschnikowia genus, such as M. koreensis . In a field trial, we found that bee pollinators had higher visitation to flowers supplemented with M. koreensis over sterile flowers, while no difference in bee foraging behaviour was evident in response to M. reukaufii . Despite this behavioural difference, the volatile profiles of both yeast species were not significantly different from one another. The ecology and species interactions of wild yeasts are poorly understood, yet may play vital roles in many ecosystems. Our research highlights the importance of studying facultative mutualisms and the necessity of testing their underlying assumptions. Elucidating the mechanisms behind insect‐microbe symbioses will open new horizons in pollination ecology and conservation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Insights from sourdough redefine the domestication landscape of baker’s yeast

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-05-01

  article

  ABSTRACT While the domestication of plants and animals is widely recognized for its role in the rise of human civilization, humans have also cultivated microbes over millennia to produce food and beverages. One microbe in particular, Saccharomyces cerevisiae , is associated with a wide variety of human-fermentation environments, including wine, beer, and notably bread, such that it is often referred to as “baker’s yeast.” To better illuminate the domestication history of baking associated yeast, we isolated 38 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from sourdough starters donated by bakers throughout North America and compared them to thousands of S. cerevisiae isolates from a variety of wild and human-fermentation environments. We identified 6 major clades with two primary domestication hubs, Mediterranean liquid-state fermentation and Asian solid-state fermentation, diverging across Eurasia that gave rise to human-associated lineages. Population genomic analyses demonstrate that S. cerevisiae strains found in sourdough starters are genetically distinct from commercial baking strains and do not come from the surrounding wild environment. Our results show that sourdough yeast strains are closely related to each other and have shared ancestry with strains isolated from various Asian solid state grain fermentations such Japanese sake, Asian rice wines, Chinese distilled spirits (baijiu), and Chinese steamed bread (mantou). We found evidence of significant admixture throughout S. cerevisiae populations, including baking-associated lineages, likely facilitated by human activity. Pangenome gene content largely captures S. cerevisiae traditional genomic sequence-based population structure and reflects human cultural practices, with differences in gene content and copy number between baking associated strains and other groups. Overall, we show that many generalized hallmarks of domestication, such as genome contraction, loss of genetic diversity, and lack of niche expansion, are not universal features of S. cerevisiae domestication, and that baking-associated yeasts have a complex evolutionary history heavily shaped by human culture.

  PublisherDOI

• The role of flour type and feeding schedule on the sourdough microbiome

  Microbiology Spectrum · 2025-11-25

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Sourdough starters are fermentations of various grains by bacteria and yeast and are of worldwide economic and cultural importance. Sourdoughs are sometimes spontaneously inoculated, and their resident microbial communities are in part shaped by environmental factors, potentially including flour, water, air, human microbiota, equipment, geography, and temperature. The number of different genera of bacteria and yeast found in sourdoughs is large; however, only a handful of species typically dominate an individual sourdough starter. Understanding how and why certain species form a mature climax community in a particular environment is a key question in microbial ecology. To investigate this question, we used a meta-barcoding approach and tested whether different baking flours (all-purpose, bread, and whole wheat) and frequency of feeding, also known as backslopping, shape the sourdough starter microbial community over the course of one month. We found that the yeast genus Kazachstania rapidly rose in frequency and became the most abundant yeast in all starters, regardless of flour type or feeding schedule. In contrast, flour type did affect the bacterial community. Mature sourdoughs all contained the bacterial genera Companilactobacillus , Levilactobacillus , Lactiplantibacillus , Furfurilactobacillus , and Acetobacter , with Companilactobacillus detected at higher relative abundance in whole wheat flour and Levilactobacillus detected at higher relative abundance in bread flour. We conclude that flour can shape the microbial community of sourdough and has potential implications for functional traits. IMPORTANCE How organisms disperse and colonize new environments is central to our understanding of biodiversity. Sourdough, the often spontaneously inoculated fermentation of grains by bacteria and yeast, represents a great system to test and observe how microorganisms come to inhabit a particular niche. In our study, we investigate how environmental parameters such as flour type and feeding frequency influence the microbial community. We find that the common sourdough yeast genus Kazachstania is most abundant in all starters regardless of treatment, but we also find a significant effect of flour type on the lactic acid bacteria composition of the sourdough starters. This work shows how the environment can impact the presence and abundance of particular microorganisms and prompts future studies to test how particular lactic acid bacteria species can specialize on certain resources.

  PublisherDOI

• Association between national action and trends in antibiotic resistance: an analysis of 73 countries from 2000 to 2023

  PLOS Global Public Health · 2025-04-30 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  The world's governments have agreed on actions to address the challenge of antibiotic resistance. This raises the question of what level of national action is associated with improved outcomes, including both slower growth and lower levels of antibiotic resistance. Answering this question is challenged by variation in data availability and quality as well as disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate the association between level of national action and temporal trends in multiple indicators related to health system capacity, antibiotic use (ABU), absolute rates of resistance (ABR) and a Drug Resistance Index (DRI). Using the Global Database for Tracking Antimicrobial Resistance (TrACSS) to construct an index of national action, we apply cross-sectional regression across 73 countries to estimate the association between the level of action in 2016 and trends in national indicators (2000-2016). We find that national action is consistently associated with improved linear or categorical trends in all groups of indicators. Reductions are associated with a relatively high action index (range 0-4) for ABU (median 2.8, 25-75% quartile 2.6-3.3), ABR (3.0, 2.4-3.4), and DRI (3.5, 3.1-3.6). These associations are robust to the inclusion of other contextual factors related to socio-economic conditions, human population density, animal production and climate. Since 2016, a majority of both Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) and High-Income Countries (HICs) report increased action on repeated questions, while one third of countries report reduced action. The main limitations in interpretation are heterogeneity in data availability and in when actions have been implemented. Our findings highlight the importance of national action to address the domestic situation related to antibiotic resistance and indicate the value of both incremental changes in reducing adversity of outcomes and the need for high levels of action in delivering reduced levels of resistance.

  PublisherDOI

• Adaptive radiation and social evolution of the ants

  Cell · 2025-06-16 · 35 citations

  articleOpen access

  Ants originated over 150 million years ago through an irreversible transition to superorganismal colony life. Comparative analyses of 163 ant genomes, including newly generated whole-genome sequences of 145 ant species, reveal extensive genome rearrangements correlated with speciation rates. Meanwhile, conserved syntenic blocks are enriched with co-expressed genes involved in basal metabolism and caste differentiation. Gene families related to digestion, endocrine signaling, cuticular hydrocarbon synthesis, and chemoreception expanded in the ant ancestor, while many caste-associated genes underwent positive selection in the formicoid ancestor. Elaborations and reductions of queen-worker dimorphism and other social traits left convergent signatures of intensified or relaxed selection in conserved signaling and metabolic pathways, suggesting that a core gene set was used to diversify organizational complexity. Previously uncharacterized genetic regulators of caste development were confirmed by functional experiments. This study reconstructs the genetic underpinning of social traits and their integration within gene-regulatory networks shaping caste phenotypes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Making yogurt with the ant holobiont uncovers bacteria, acids, and enzymes for food fermentation

  iScience · 2025-10-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  <h2>Summary</h2> Milk fermentation has a rich history in which food culture, the environment, and microbes intersect. However, traditional practices and their associated microbes have largely been replaced by industrial processes. We investigate a historical fermentation originating from Turkey and Bulgaria – ant yogurt. By examining the traditional practice, gastronomic applications, and experimentally derived yogurts, we uncover that the red wood ant holobiont facilitates fermentation. Bacteria hosted by the ants can proliferate in the milk. Specifically, live ants contribute lactic and acetic acid bacteria, including <i>Frutilactobacillus sanfranciscensis,</i> normally related to sourdough. Consequently, the bacterial community introduces lactic and acetic acid, while the ants provide formic acid, collectively advantageous for yogurt acidification and coagulation. Last, the ants and bacteria produce potential casein-active proteases that may further alter the yogurt texture. Our findings highlight the value of integrating traditional and biological frameworks to uncover the origins and applications of fermented food microbes.

  PublisherDOI

• Shark Tooth Forensics: A Participatory Science Initiative to Unravel Ancient Shark Ecology

  Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America · 2025-01-08

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Studying the ecology of ancient organisms requires a tremendous amount of data, as in the case of prehistoric sharks where our knowledge is based mostly on teeth. Shark Tooth Forensics is a participatory science project tackling the problem of deciphering the ecology of ancient sharks with assistance from public school students. Traditionally, paleontological data collection protocols use research staff or a cadre of trained volunteers to collect paleontological data, whereas participatory science provides a means to increase the number of people involved in paleontological research. Students contributing to our project search for fossil shark teeth in sediments from various geologic time periods, and measure and record the teeth they discover for accessioning in natural history museums. Statistical analyses reveal that middle school students provide measurements of shark teeth that are indistinguishable from those same measurements taken by research staff. However, it is necessary to collect data from large student populations, ~10–30 students, before obtaining a statistically reliable sample. In addition, we find students are able to recognize shark teeth from a variety of species, not just stereotypical triangular teeth of species like the Great White ( Carcharodon carcharias ). Teachers can utilize Shark Tooth Forensics curricular activities that use student data in curriculum as a way to gain more personal investment. We estimate over 2,000 students have already participated, and with the potential for this project to last for decades, many thousands more will have the opportunity to discover fossil sharks and reconstruct the lives of these ancient fish.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evolutionary genomics reveals plant origins of acetic acid bacteria in fermented food

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-07-14 · 2 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Humans have historically relied on acetic acid bacteria (AAB) for food fermentation, yet their origins must trace back to free-living species outside of human environments. In nature, plants, fruit flies, and social insects host AAB. However, the evolutionary transitions of AAB from symbiotic hosts to fermented foods remain ambiguous. Here, we conduct a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of 570 publicly available AAB genomes. We find that the ∼170My evolutionary history of this group is concordant with the rise of angiosperms, corbiculate bees, and the consequential accelerated availability of environmental carbohydrates. Unlike other ferment-associated microbes, ferment-associated AAB have exclusively evolved from clades inhabiting flowers and fruits, but not insect hosts. Genomic features are similar in plant- and ferment-associated AAB, yet markers of early adaptation to ferments are also present. Conversely, social insect-associated AAB have reduced genome sizes, which may have limited their functional capability to disperse into ferments. Plant- and ferment-associated AAB coincide in the ability to metabolise diverse plant carbohydrates, though both have adapted to produce habitat-specific carbohydrate-active enzymes. In contrast, metabolic capacity is reduced in social insect-associated AAB. By tracing the phylogenomics of this clade, we understand how evolution forged AAB capable of performing metabolic work for humans, shaping the history and potential futures of fermentation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Understanding the Factors that Govern Invasion (and coexistence), a Case Study with an Anomalous Asian Ant.

  NSF · $8k · 2008–2010

• Dimensions: Collaborative: The climate cascade: functional and evolutionary consequences of climatic change on species, trait, and genetic diversity in a temperate ant community

  NSF · $564k · 2012–2015

• CAREER: Working with student scientists to understand global patterns in the present and future ecological consequences of ants

  NSF · $710k · 2010–2015

• Students Discover: Improving Middle School STEM Outcomes through Scaling Citizen Science Projects

  NSF · $7.2M · 2013–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Nathan J. Sanders

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  156 shared

• L. C. Dunn

  Vassar College

  102 shared

• Noah Fierer

  84 shared

• Aaron M. Ellison

  Harvard University

  84 shared

• Clint A. Penick

  Auburn University

  71 shared

• Lauren M. Nichols

  64 shared

• Nicholas J. Gotelli

  University of Vermont

  64 shared

• Sarah E. Diamond

  Case Western Reserve University

  62 shared

Labs

• Applied EcologyPI

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