Bugs, Plants, and Microbes

Josephine Antwi

Assistant Professor, Biology Dept.

University of Mary Washington

Ghana

http://www.danske-natur.dk/ghana

How I Got To Where I am Today

Louisiana, USA

All images (and any misidentifications) by J. L. Bossart

How I Got To Where I am Today

Insects Plants

Evolutionary implications

Pest management implications

My Research Interests

Microorganisms

Formation of genetically distinct insect populations are common

Peccoud et al. 2009: PNAS

Host Associated Differentiation (HAD)

Pea aphid

Cotton fleahopper (CFH) , Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Photo by Apurba Barman)

1/8 inch long

Cotton Fleahopper (CFH) Damages Early Stages of Cotton

Highly polyphagous

160 recorded hosts

Cotton fleahopper (CFH) , Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Photo by Apurba Barman)

CFH show HAD in 1 out of 3 Host Plants in Texas

College station

Weslaco

San Angelo

Lubbock

Barman et al. 2012,: Entomol. Exp. Appl.

CFH Collected from 12 Host Plants from 7 Families

CFH Displays HAD on 1 out of 12 Host Plants in Texas

Host plants

Scurvy mallow

Implications: Scurvy Mallow and Horsemint may be Poor

Sources of CFH to cotton fields

My Research Interests

Insects Plants

Microorganisms

Bacterial symbionts

CFH is a Pest Only in Certain States Along the Cotton Belt

= 2009

= 2010

= 2012

Kudzu bug Brown et al. 2013; Molecular Ecology

Bacterial Symbionts Confer Pest Status to Insects

Kudzu bug first discovered in Georgia

Plataspid bean bug Kudzu bug C

on

trol

R

epla

ced

Hosokawa et al. 2007; PNAS

Bacterial Symbionts Confer Pest Status to Insects

CFH is a Pest Only in Certain States Along the Cotton Belt

NC= North Carolina

GA = Georgia

SC = South Carolina

WS = Weslaco, Tx

CS = College Station, Tx

CC = Corpus Christi, Tx

LB = Lubbock, Tx

AZ = Arizona

Next Generation Sequencing

Kruskal's stress = 0.14

Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS)

NO Correlation Between Microbiome and Pest Status

= Occasional Pest

= Pest

AZ

Lb

*Ws

*Cc

*Cs

GA

SC

NC

-8000

-4000

0

4000

8000

-12000 -8000 -4000 0 4000 8000 12000 16000

Dim

2

Dim1

Insects Plants Microorganisms

My Research Interests

Fungal endophytes

Plants Get a Little Help From Their Fungal Friends

Diene et al. 2010; Kabaluk & Ericsson 2007

Insects

Sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Sugarcane Aphid has Spread on Sorghum Within 2 years

Pf

Height two weeks after planting

Bb, Pl, Pf Enhance Seedling Growth

Control plants Endophyte-treated plants

Bb and Pl Influences the Fecundity of Aphids on Sorghum

b b

a

Error bars: +/- 1 SE

Insects Plants Microorganisms

Bacterial symbionts Fungal endophytes

Symbiosis Symbiosis

Biological control agents

My Research Interests

Sweet potato weevil Cylas formicarius

Sweetpotato weevils are important pests worldwide

• Females lay eggs in roots

and base of stems

• Larvae feed in root for

weeks

• Feeding results in

• Physical damage

• Terpenoid production

(bad taste)

• Control: chemical

insecticides on weekly basis

• Internal feeding makes

control difficult

What Can You Do to Support Your Students?

Formulate a question

Gather information

Experimental design

Gather data

Share results Repeat

Invite scientists to your classrooms

1. Researchers

Urban pests

Forest pests

Agricultural pests

Medical and veterinary

2. Teachers

3. Consultants

Careers in Entomology

Universities/community colleges

Education and training of students in entomology/related

sciences

Private industries

1. Seed industries

2. Agrochemical industries

3. Crop consultants

4. Urban pest control

Government agencies 1. Regulatory agencies: APHIS

2. Extension services

3. Military: Army, Navy, and Air Force

4. Federal Research Labs: USDA, NIH, US Geological Survey

Careers in Entomology

1. Forensic Entomology

2. Public Health

Medical or graduate school

3. Conservation

4. Veterinary

Careers in Entomology

Acknowledgements

Collaborators:

Raul Medina

Gregory Sword

Silvia Rondon

Janice Bossart

Funding