A5069728842- Plant and animal studies
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Bird parasitology and diseases
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Insect behavior and control techniques
- Insect Resistance and Genetics
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Insect Utilization and Effects
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
- Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Insect Pest Control Strategies
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Plant Virus Research Studies
University of California, Berkeley
2016-2025
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
2023
ORCID
2022
University of Arizona
2010-2020
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
2016-2020
Integra (United States)
2017-2019
Harvard University
2006-2015
University of Missouri–St. Louis
2004-2011
Cornell University
2010
Ithaca College
2010
Abstract Insects contain more than half of all living species, but the causes their remarkable diversity remain poorly understood. Many authors have suggested that herbivory has accelerated diversification in many insect clades. However, others questioned role diversification. Here, we test relationships between and across multiple scales. We find a strong, positive relationship among orders. explains less variation within some orders (Diptera, Hemiptera) or shows no significant with...
Over 100 years of studies in Drosophila melanogaster and related species the genus have facilitated key discoveries genetics, genomics, evolution. While high-quality genome assemblies exist for several this group, they only encompass a small fraction genus. Recent advances long-read sequencing allow tens or even hundreds to be efficiently generated. Here, we utilize Oxford Nanopore build an open community resource 101 lines 93 drosophilid encompassing 14 groups 35 sub-groups. The genomes are...
For decades the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been an important model system for biology, but little is known about its natural ecology. Recently, C. become focus of studies innate immunity and several pathogens have shown to cause lethal intestinal infections in elegans. However none these invade cells, no pathogen isolated from wild-caught Here we describe intracellular that show a new species microsporidia. Microsporidia comprise large class eukaryotic parasites are medically...
An increased susceptibility to disease is one hypothesis explaining how inbreeding hastens extinction in island endemics and threatened species. Experimental studies show that resistance declines as increases, but data from situ wildlife systems are scarce. Genetic diversity increases with size across the entire range of an extremely inbred Galápagos endemic bird, providing context for a natural experiment examining effects on susceptibility. Extremely populations hawks had higher parasite...
Significance The evolution of herbivory in animals is rare but has resulted major adaptive radiations. Its rarity suggests that there are barriers to colonization plants. Behavioral adaptations, involving host plant finding, likely the first evolve during transition herbivory. A recently evolved herbivorous fly species was derived from yeast-feeding ancestors. This fly, unlike its relatives, lost attraction yeast volatiles, ability detect and three genes encode olfactory receptors critical...
Significance Convergent and parallel evolution (homoplasy) is widespread in the tree of life can obscure evidence about phylogenetic relationships. Homoplasy be elevated genomes because individual loci may have independent evolutionary histories different from species history. We sequenced five cacti, including iconic saguaro Sonoran Desert three other columnar to investigate whether previously uncharacterized features genome might explain long-standing challenges understanding cactus...
Chemically defended plant tissues present formidable barriers to herbivores. Although mechanisms resist defenses have been identified in ancient herbivorous lineages, adaptations overcome during transitions herbivory remain relatively unexplored. The fly genus Scaptomyza is nested within the Drosophila and includes species that feed on living tissue of mustard plants (Brassicaceae), yet this lineage derived from microbe-feeding ancestors. We found mustard-feeding melanogaster detoxify oils,...
Abstract There is tremendous diversity of interactions between plants and other species. These relationships range from antagonism to mutualism. Interactions with members their ecological community can lead a profound metabolic reconfiguration the plants’ physiology. This favour beneficial organisms deter antagonists like pathogens or herbivores. Determining cellular molecular dialogue plants, microbes, insects, its evolutionary implications important for understanding options each partner...
Only one of the 5000 extant louse species (Phthiraptera) and no flea (Siphonaptera), parasitic helminth (Platyhelminthes), nematode (Nemata), mite, or tick (Acari) is listed as threatened by IUCN, despite impassioned pleas for parasite conservation beginning more than a decade ago. Although they should be conserved their own sake, past arguments, highlighting intrinsic utilitarian value parasites, have not translated into increased attention scientists managers, at least standard listing...
Comparative microevolutionary studies of multiple parasites occurring on a single host species can help shed light the processes underlying parasite diversification. We compared phylogeographical histories, population genetic structures and divergence times three co-distributed phylogenetically independent ectoparasitic insect species, including an amblyceran ischnoceran louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera), hippoboscid fly Diptera) their endemic avian in Galápagos Islands. The hawk (Aves:...
Abstract Simultaneous or sequential attack by herbivores and microbes is common in plants. Many seed plants exhibit a defence trade‐off against chewing herbivorous insects leaf‐colonizing (‘phyllosphere’) bacteria, which arises from cross‐talk between the phytohormones jasmonic acid ( JA , induced many herbivores) salicylic SA bacteria). This may promote reciprocal susceptibility phyllosphere bacteria insect herbivores. In population of native bittercress C ardamine cordifolia Brassicaceae),...
The role of disease in regulating populations is controversial, partly owing to the absence good records historic wildlife populations. We examined birds collected Galapagos Islands between 1891 and 1906 that are currently held at California Academy Sciences Zoologisches Staatssammlung Muenchen, including 3973 specimens representing species from two well-studied families endemic passerine birds: finches mockingbirds. Beginning with samples 1899, we observed cutaneous lesions consistent...
Toxin cargo genes are often horizontally transferred by phages between bacterial species and known to play an important role in the evolution of pathogenesis. Here, we show how these same have been from phage or bacteria animals resulted novel adaptations. We discovered that two widespread encoding toxins animal cells, cytolethal distending toxin subunit B ( cdtB ) apoptosis-inducing protein 56 kDa aip56) , were captured insect genomes through horizontal gene transfer phages. To study...
Abstract The molecular mechanisms of coevolution between plants and insects remain elusive. GABA receptors are targets many neurotoxic terpenoids, which represent the most diverse array natural products known. Over deep evolutionary time, as plant terpene synthases diversified in plants, so did terpenoid defence repertoires. Here we show that herbivorous their predators evolved convergent amino acid changing substitutions duplicated copies Resistance to dieldrin ( Rdl ) gene encodes...
Theory predicts a positive relationship between parasite infection intensity and host density. However, this generalization is complicated in natural systems by differences life history among taxa, e.g., transmissibility. Accordingly, predictions relating density to load should be specific each taxon. To illustrate this, we studied parasites that differed greatly the context of Galapagos hawk's (Buteo galapagoensis) variably cooperative mating system. Two louse (Phthiraptera) species were...
The presence of avian pox in endemic birds the Galápagos Islands has led to concern that health these may be threatened by avipoxvirus introduction domestic birds. We describe here a simple polymerase chain reaction-based method for identification and discrimination strains similar fowlpox or canarypox viruses. This method, conjunction with DNA sequencing two reaction-amplified loci totaling about 800 bp, was used identify strains, Gal1 Gal2, lesions from yellow warblers (Dendroica...
Abstract Experimental infections of Arabidopsis thaliana ( ) with genomically characterized plant pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae have facilitated the dissection canonical eukaryotic defence pathways and parasite virulence factors. Plants are also attacked by herbivorous insects, development an ecologically relevant genetic model herbivore that feeds on will enable parallel host reciprocal resistance those involved in xenobiotic metabolism. An ideal candidate is Scaptomyza flava , a...
Herbivorous insects are among the most successful radiations of life. However, we know little about processes underpinning evolution herbivory. We examined herbivory in fly, Scaptomyza flava, whose larvae leaf miners on species Brassicaceae, including widely studied reference plant, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). flava is phylogenetically nested within paraphyletic genus Drosophila, and whole genome sequences available for 12 Drosophila facilitated phylogenetic analysis assembly a...