Postdoc
Joined the Hollfelder group: November 2023
Background and Current Projects: I have PhD in Biochemistry, where I investigated molecular pathways related to study uptake of a protein toxin in the insect gut. I then worked at CSIRO in Australia, using genomics to understand how insect pests move around the globe. I next ventured into developmental biology and developed a project studying the role of tissue tension in embryogenesis in chicken embryos, linking biochemical changes to developmental defects. Currently, I am studying the larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF), which have evolved to feed on rotting material and have therefore adapted to be generalist, resistant to infection and able to digest a wide variety of substrates. The varied and flexible diet of the BSF therefore suggests it could be an important source of promiscuous enzymes for diverse functions. However, the enzymatic activity of the BSF and its microbiome remain almost completely unexplored.
Interests: In my spare time I am an amateur Muay Thai fighter, I love running, eating chocolate and travelling.
Publications
D. Kunz et al., ‘Downregulation of extraembryonic tension controls body axis formation in avian embryos’, Nat Commun, vol. 14, no. 1, Art. no. 1, Jun. 2023, Link.
D. Kunz, W. T. Tay, S. Elfekih, K. H. J. Gordon, and P. J. D. Barro, ‘Take out the rubbish – Removing NUMTs and pseudogenes from the Bemisia tabaci cryptic species mtCOI database’, Aug. 05, 2019, Link
W. T. Tay; D. Kunz, et al., ‘Global population genomic signature of Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm) supports complex introduction events across the Old World’, Commun Biol, vol. 5, no. 1, Art. no. 1, Apr. 2022, Link
D. Kunz et al., ‘Draft mitochondrial DNA genome of a 1920 Barbados cryptic Bemisia tabaci “New World” species (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)’, Mitochondrial DNA Part B, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1183–1184, Jan. 2019, Link
D. Kunz et al., ‘Phaseolin ingestion affects vesicular traffic causing oxidative stress in the midgut of Callosobruchus maculatus larvae’, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, vol. 228, pp. 34–40, Feb. 2019, Link
D. Kunz et al., ‘Receptor mediated endocytosis of vicilin in Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larval midgut epithelial cells’, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, vol. 210, pp. 39–47, Aug. 2017, Link
