evolutionary patterns in Hymenoptera
Lab research focuses on the insect order Hymenoptera, specifically currently centering on ants and wasps within the Aculeata (the stinging Hymenoptera; ants, bees, and various wasps). One aspect that drives our research questions is why some insect groups are so diverse or successful. We can use comparative phylogenomic methods to help shed light on this broad topic. Lab members use tools to investigate questions such as: what traits contribute to some groups of insects being more speciose than others? What are the historical patterns of geographic distribution? Does a diet shift coincide to an increase in diversification?
For phylogenetic reconstruction, we have been utilizing thousands of highly-conserved regions of DNA across the genome (ultraconserved elements (UCEs)). Next-generation sequencing techniques are effective for utilizing fragmented DNA from old, pinned museum specimens. Next, we'll be moving into sequencing whole genomes of the bees and wasps we study.
For phylogenetic reconstruction, we have been utilizing thousands of highly-conserved regions of DNA across the genome (ultraconserved elements (UCEs)). Next-generation sequencing techniques are effective for utilizing fragmented DNA from old, pinned museum specimens. Next, we'll be moving into sequencing whole genomes of the bees and wasps we study.
Bees of the World - Phylogenomics, Biogeography, and Evolution of Host-Plant Associations, NSF-DEB 2127744 and 45
We were recently awarded a four-year National Science Foundation grant. This fall 2021, we'll start progress on the first aim of the grant, to sequence thousands of bee UCEs and genomes. This work will be done with Elizabeth Murray and Silas Bossert at WSU, in collaboration with several other institutions: Michael Branstetter at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit in Logan, Bryan Danforth at Cornell, and Paulmichael Maxfield at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Each research institution will host a graduate student, and a postdoc will additionally be based at WSU.
We were recently awarded a four-year National Science Foundation grant. This fall 2021, we'll start progress on the first aim of the grant, to sequence thousands of bee UCEs and genomes. This work will be done with Elizabeth Murray and Silas Bossert at WSU, in collaboration with several other institutions: Michael Branstetter at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit in Logan, Bryan Danforth at Cornell, and Paulmichael Maxfield at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Each research institution will host a graduate student, and a postdoc will additionally be based at WSU.
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Did you know that there are pollen-feeding wasps in the family Vespidae? Within the vespids, there is a subfamily, Masarinae, that has made a diet switch to pollen, in a similar niche as bees. Those vespid pollen feeders comprise fewer than 2% of the species of bees, which number more than 20,000 species. Stay tuned in the next couple of years for new insights to this group and the origins of pollinivory.
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photo of Pseudomasaris edwardsii male, by Nathaniel Green; Leica scope in MT James museum
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Potato aphid project
(Macrosiphum euphorbiae) USDA-ARS Federal-State Partnership Potato Program, awarded 2021 “Development of genomic and population toolkits for potato aphid: helping the potato industry prepare for post-neonicotinoid resurgence of Potato leafroll virus”
with Drs Gary Miller and Chris Owen, of USDA-ARS in Beltsville, MD & thanks to Dr. Andy Jensen of the Northwest Potato Research Consortium We're the university cooperator and we are on the lookout for any potato aphids we can find. Contact Elizabeth if you have a lead!
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Potato aphids found on their overwintering host plant, a rose bush. Collected in Moscow, ID, in May 2022.
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