Scholars@Duke
Kayla Wilhoit

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Recent Publications

Meiosis-specific genes play roles in ploidy reduction in Cryptococcus neoformans titan cells.

Journal Article bioRxiv · September 18, 2025 Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen of humans that causes life-threatening meningoencephalitis. During infection, enlarged, polyploid titan cells are produced that promote survival, evade immune cells, and generate diverse progeny. These titan cel ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genome restructuring and lineage diversification of Cryptococcus neoformans during chronic infection of human hosts.

Journal Article Cell Rep · August 26, 2025 Opportunistic microbial pathogens that infect humans must adapt to radically different fitness landscapes as they transition from the external environment to the host niche. The nature, frequency, and magnitude of genomic changes that accompany adaptation ... Full text Link to item Cite

Convergent Evolution and Predictability of Gene Copy Numbers Associated with Diets in Mammals.

Journal Article Genome biology and evolution · February 2025 Convergent evolution, the evolution of the same or similar phenotypes in phylogenetically independent lineages, is a widespread phenomenon in nature. If the genetic basis for convergent evolution is predictable to some extent, it may be possible to infer o ... Full text Cite
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