Biology Department
Dylan Klure
Job Title
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Areas of expertise
Physiological ecology, evolutionary biology, genomics, inquiry-based pedagogy
Research interests
At every meal, herbivores face the risk of being poisoned by their food. Plants defend themselves against herbivores using a diverse arsenal of toxins, and in turn, herbivores have evolved counteradaptations that allow them to avoid being poisoned by certain toxins. This evolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores has greatly contributed to the diversity of life on Earth. In my research I study this arms race from the perspective of the herbivore, where I combine ecological, physiological, and genetic approaches to unravel the diverse ways in which mammalian herbivores evolve resistance to plant toxins.
Teaching interests
Cellular Foundations of Life (BIO 104), Topics in Physiology (BIO 206), Nutritional Physiology (BIO 326)
Publications
Select publications (full list is available here)
Klure DM, Greenhalgh R, Orr TJ, Shapiro MD and Dearing MD. 2025. Parallel gene expansions drive rapid dietary adaptation in herbivorous woodrats. Science, 387(6730), 156–162.
Greenhalgh R, Klure DM, Orr TJ, Armstrong NM, Shapiro MD, and Dearing MD. 2024. The desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida) induces a diversity of biotransformation genes in response to creosote bush resin. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, 280(109870).
Klure DM and Dearing MD. 2023. Seasonal restructuring facilitates compositional convergence of gut microbiota in free-ranging rodents. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 99(11).
Klure DM, Greenhalgh R, Parchman TL, Matocq MD, Galland LM, Shapiro MD and Dearing MD (2023). Hybridization in the absence of an ecotone favors hybrid success in woodrats (Neotoma spp.). Evolution, 77(4), 959-970.
Dearing MD, Orr TJ, Klure DM, Greenhalgh R, Weinstein SB, Stapleton TE, Yamada KYH, Doolin ML, Nelson MD, Nielsen DP, Matocq MD and Shapiro MD. 2022. Toxin tolerance across landscapes: Ecological exposure not a prerequisite. Functional Ecology, 36(8). 2119-2131.
Weinstein SB, Martinez-Mota R, Stapleton TE, Klure DM, Greenhalgh R, Orr TJ, Dale C, Kohl KD and Dearing MD. 2021. Microbiome stability and structure is governed by host phylogeny over diet and geography in woodrats (Neotoma spp.). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(47).
Academic credentials
B.A., University of Redlands; Ph.D., University of Utah; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Utah
Integrated Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) 319
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