written by: ​Allison Huysman, Kathleen Evans & Taís Ribeiro 

As entomologists, we are often asked what mosquitoes are good for. These commonly hated insects - which are especially pesty during the summer months - are actually fascinating research subjects. Mosquitoes are extremely diverse, with around 3,500 species, and are also ecologically relevant. Several species are responsible for biological control (by eating other mosquito larvae that cause diseases) and others even pollinate! Unfortunately, some species drink human blood, and some of these are vectors of deadly diseases. Studying these vectors can help improve the prediction of diseases and help to control outbreaks. Here at the University of Maryland Entomology Department, students in the Fritz lab research different ways to predict the spread of Culex mosquitoes (Figure 1) and the viruses they can spread. In their Research in Progress talks, M.Sc student Ben Burgunder and Ph.D student Ben Gregory presented their work modeling the community composition and thermal tolerance of Culex mosquitoes.

written by: Megan Ma and Eric Hartel 
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Scientists can propose how and why species evolve by studying the shapes of anatomical structures across animals.  They can investigate what morphologies may correlate with specific functions and how the interplay between an organism’s environment and its morphology can facilitate diversification.
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In a well-known example, Charles Darwin observed many species of finches with varying beak shapes and sizes. A correlation was found between beak morphology and diet type: insectivorous finches had long, sharp beaks to probe and capture prey, while seed-eating finches had stronger, shorter beaks to crack open seed casings. With modern tools, continued research on these finches reveals greater information on their evolution, such as how beak shape is also correlated with altered vocalizations. It has also helped explain how different species with different beak morphologies coexist in the same habitat1. These beaks are an example of how shapes evolve to accommodate the survival and fitness of an organism, and this study system is an example of how the incorporation of modern techniques allows for the comprehensive study of shape evolution. 

written by: Michael Adu-Brew & Ben Burgunder ​

When most people think of mathematicians, scenes of squawking flocks of birds being herded into arenas, tiny ticks being carefully painted with nail polish, and an army of permethrin-soaked undergraduate researchers do not come to mind. These people do not know Dr. Holly Gaff.
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On Friday, October 27th, Dr. Gaff, Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University (ODU), spoke to the UMD Department of Entomology about her exciting research on the ticks of southeastern Virginia. A mathematician by training, Dr. Gaff was ‘bitten’ by the tick research bug when she realized how mathematical modeling and simulation could help decipher the complex and unpredictable life histories of ticks that threaten public health across the country. 

 Dr. Nicolas Medina and Postdoc Mentor, Dr. Anahi Espindola, partnered up with Univ of Wyoming colleague Dr. David C. Tank to create a more robust evolutionary tree for Calceolaria. Using a new bait set gene sequencing method on recent and historic specimens of Calceolariaceae they were able to recover data for a wide range of DNA qualities at multiple phylogenetic scales. The results in this study demonstrate the efficacy of this new approach, which the authors hope, will be adopted for use in other systems. Their study entitled, "Calceolariaceae809: A bait set for targeted sequencing of nuclear loci", is out this week in Applications in Plant Sciences.


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In a paper just published in Developmental Biology, Matthew Fischer (MOCB alum), Patricia Graham (Research Scientist) and Leslie show that a regulatory element thought to be essential for gene expression in the early Drosophila embryo is actually not required for gene expression or for wild type development.  They used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to remove this DNA region from the genome. Unexpectedly, flies homozygous for this deletion are viable, fertile, and perfectly healthy in the lab. This finding demonstrates the importance of using different types of techniques to tackle research questions. It also raises new questions about the evolution of regulatory elements and their roles in extant species. 

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