International doctoral student Ziad Khouri, who studies with major professor, UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, will share his research on mammoth wasps, the scoliid wasps, at a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on Wednesday, March 30. This is the first in a series of spring quarter seminars  

Khouri will present his seminar in-person at 4:10 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) in 122 Briggs Hall and via Zoom. The Zoom link is https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/99515291076 

"Ziad's work on the mammoth wasps is unique," said host Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a distinguished professor of entomology. "This is a family of large bodied distinctive parasitoid wasps that have never had a modern systematic treatment, and the genus and species level taxonomy was a mess. He has brought together modern and classical techniques to bring taxonomic order to this family of wasps and discovered how they evolved."

The Bohart Museum, home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens, houses some 2300 mammoth wasp specimens, mostly from the Americas, Korea and South Africa.

Khouri will deliver his seminar in two parts:  "The Evolutionary History of Mammoth Wasps (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae)" and "Comparing the Power of Data-Based Phylogenetic Posterior Predictive Checks in the Context of Cucleotide and Amino Acid Data."

Khouri shares these abstracts from his seminar:

Part 1: "The Evolutionary History of Mammoth Wasps (Hymenoptera: Scoliidae)"

Scoliid wasps comprise a clade of aculeate insects whose larvae are parasitoids of scarabaeid beetle grubs. While scoliids have been studied and used as biological control agents, research into the group's evolution, as well as the stability of scoliid taxonomy, has been limited by a lack of reliable phylogenies. We use ultraconserved element (UCE) data under concatenation and the multispecies coalescent to infer a phylogeny of the Scoliidae. In order to mitigate potential issues arising from model misspecification, we perform data filtering experiments using posterior predictive checks and matched-pairs tests of symmetry. Our analyses confirm the position of Proscolia as sister to all other extant scoliids. We also find strong support for a sister group relationship between the campsomerine genus Colpa and the Scoliini, rendering the Campsomerini non-monophyletic. Campsomerini excluding Colpa (hereafter Campsomerini sensu stricto) is inferred to be monophyletic, with the Australasian genus Trisciloa recovered as sister to the remaining members of the group. Many sampled genera, including Campsomeriella, Dielis, Megascolia, and Scolia are inferred to be non-monophyletic. Analyses incorporating fossil data indicate an Early Cretaceous origin of the crown Scoliidae, with the split between Scoliini + Colpa and Campsomerini s.s. most probably occurring in the Late Cretaceous. Posterior means of Scoliini + Colpa and Campsomerini s.s. crown ages are estimated to be in the Paleogene, though age 95% HPD intervals extend slightly back past the K-Pg boundary, and analyses including fossils of less certain placement result in more posterior mass on older ages. Our estimates of the stem ages of Nearctic scoliid clades are consistent with dispersal across Beringia during the Oligocene or later Eocene. Our study provides a foundation for future research into scoliid wasp evolution and biogeography by being the first to leverage genome-scale data and model-based methods. However, the precision of our dating analyses is constrained by the paucity of well-preserved fossils reliably attributable to the scoliid crown group. Despite concluding that the higher-level taxonomy of the Scoliidae is in dire need of revision, we recommend that taxonomic changes be predicated on datasets that extend the geographic and taxonomic sampling of the current study.

Part II: "Comparing the Power of Data-Based Phylogenetic Posterior Predictive Checks in the Context of Cucleotide and Amino Acid Data" 

When used for phylogenetic inference, exonic DNA sequences can be coded in multiple ways, including as nucleotides, amino acids, and codons. In empirical studies, the choice of data type and associated model is often predicated on which model is less expected to be violated in ways that lead to inaccurate inference. Posterior predictive checks are one method for assessing the adequacy of phylogenetic models and potentially providing an indication of inference reliability. We used a simulation-based approach to explore how our ability to detect model inadequacy using phylogenetic posterior prediction, as well as the associated inference errors, may vary with data coding. Specifically, we simulated data under multiple models, including codon models featuring process heterogeneity across lineages, selection heterogeneity across sites, and selection for codon usage. We then performed inference and posterior predictive checks under nucleotide and amino acid models from the GTR family. We found that some simulation conditions resulted in significant differences, between amino acid and nucleotide treatments, in our ability to detect model violation, even when the magnitude of error in an estimate of interest was similar. Moreover, we corroborate the results of other studies indicating that error in tree length estimation is not always correlated with error in topology reconstruction. Although the use of amino acid models generally resulted in more accurate topologies, we found tree length errors to often be greater than for nucleotide models when the data being analyzed were generated using branch-heterogeneous codon models. We show that the magnitude and direction of tree length estimation error can depend on both data coding and properties of the data-generating process. We conclude that if posterior predictive checks are to be used for purposes such as data filtering, practical effect size thresholds indicative of low inference reliability must be established separately for amino acid and nucleotide data. We also advise caution and recommend careful selection of models and data coding when performing analyses where accurate inference of tree length is important.

Khouri joined the UC Davis graduate program in 2012 and is pursuing his doctorate in entomology. His dissertation research involves the phylogenetics, evolution and taxonomy of Scolliidae (Hymenoptera) and phylogenetic posterior prediction. He holds a bachelor's degree in biology (2012) from Notre Dame University - Louaize (NDU).

He did undergraduate research on the identification of bee and other pollinator specimens at the American University of Beirut; assessed genetic diversity in Spartium junceum populations (known as Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver's broom); and collected specimens for the establishment of an insect collection at NDU. Khouri was a member of the UC Davis team that won the national Linnaean (now Entomology) Games at the 2015 Entomological Society of America meeting. The UC Davis team defeated the University of Florida, winning the competition for its first time in the Games' 32-year history. (See video)

The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, is currently closed to the public. It houses eight million insect specimens, as well as a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantuias) and an insect-themed gift shop, now online. 

Nematologist Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, coordinates the seminars. For any Zoom technical issues, contact Siddique at ssiddique@ucdavis.edu. (See list of seminars)

Ready to learn about mammoth wasps, medflies, nematodes and pesticide risks to polilnators, or delve into such topics as "Mystery of the Missing Microbes: Why Do Bees Keep Losing Their Symbionts?” 

Coordinator Shahid Siddique, assistant professor of nematology, UC Davis Dpartment of Entomology and Nematology, has announced the list of spring quarter seminars.

The seminars will take place at 4:10 p.m., Pacific Time, on Wednesdays, beginning March 30 and will continue through June 1. The in-person seminars will be in 122 Briggs Hall. All also will be broadcast on Zoom. The link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/99515291076.

Wednesday, March 30 (in-person and virtual)
Ziad Khouri, international graduate student
Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Title: "Scoliid Wasp Evolution and Some Adventures with Posterior Predictive Simulation"
Host: Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology

Wednesday, April 6 (virtual)
Makedonka Mitreva, professor of medicine and genetics
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Title: "Multi-omics Applications in Helminth Research"
Host: Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, April 13 (in-person and virtual)
Tobin Hammer, assistant professor, ecology and evolutionary biology
UC Irvine
Title: “Mystery of the Missing Microbes: Why Do Bees Keep Losing Their Symbionts?” 
Host: Rachel Vannette, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, April 20 (in-person and virtual)
Jared Ali, assistant professor of entomology
Pennsylvania State University, State College
Title: "Chemical Ecology of Plant Defense and Multi-trophic Interactions: Bad Bugs, Pungent Parasites and Toxic Travelers"
Host: Richard Karban, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, April 27 (virtual)
Heather Bruce, postdoctoral researcher
Marine Biological Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley 
Title:  "Evolution and Development of Arthropod Appendages: Novelty and Homology"
Host: Xavier Zahnle, doctoral student, Jason Bond lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, May 4 (virtual) 
Scott McArt, assistant professor of entomology
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Title: "Pesticide Risk to Pollinators: What We Know and What We Need to Know Better" 
Host: Lexie Nichole Martin, doctoral student, Rachel Vannette lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, May 11 (virtual)
Mostafa Zamanian, assistant professor, Department of Pathobiological Sciences
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Title: "Combing Target and Whole-Organism Paradigms for Anthelmintic Discovery"
Host: Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, May 18 (virtual)
Corlett Wood, assistant professor of biology
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Title: "The Conflict Beneath your Feet: Indirect Effects in Plant-Symbiont Interactions"
Host: Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, May 25 (in-person and virtual)
James R. Carey, UC Davis distinguished professor 
UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Title: "The Conceptual Sweep of a Mathematical Discovery in Insect Demography: From Estimation of Medfly Population Age Structure to an Historical Analysis of U.S. Congress Incumbency Distributions, 1785-2000”
Host: Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Wednesday, June 1 (in-person and virtual)
Isgouhi Kaloshian, Divisional Dean, Agricultural and Natural Resources
UC Riverside
Title: "Root-Knot Nematode Perception and Immune Signaling in Arabidopsis"
Host: Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

For any technical issues, reach coordinator Shahid Siddique at ssiddique@ucdavis.edu.

June is bustin' out all over
All over the meadow and the hill
Buds 're bustin' outa bushes
And the rompin' river pushes
Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside the mill
--Rodgers and Hammerstein

Just remove "June" and replace it with "Spring."

Rodgers and Hammerstein mentioned that "buds are bustin' outa bushes," but they could have changed that to "bugs."

Bugs bustin' out of bushes. Our little buddies, the bugs.

Sunday, March 20 was the first day of spring, and two lady beetles, aka ladybugs, made sure we knew it. They were bustin' some moves.

These multicolored Asian lady beetles managed to coordinate their arrival with their prey, those pesky aphids and other soft-bodied insects.

"Multicolored Asian lady beetle can be found in almost any type of vegetation that hosts its prey," according to the the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program website. "It was introduced to control soft-bodied pests on fruit and nut trees. Since arriving in California in the 1990s, multicolored Asian lady beetle has become the most common lady beetle in many habitats. It has outcompeted and displaced certain native lady beetles that were more common prior to its arrival in the state."

And how many aphids can an adult beetle eat per day? More than 100. Larvae eat 'em, too. "Each larva can consume about 600 to 1,200 aphids during its development through 4 instars," UC IPM points out. "Because adults can live more than 1 year, an individual can consume over 5,000 aphids or similar-sized pests during its larval and adult lifespan."

"This voracious predator has improved biological control of soft-bodied pests in various crop, garden, and landscape situations. However, the multicolored Asian lady beetle is also an unwelcome pest when it enters buildings during fall seeking shelter overwinter. When disturbed adults can emit drops of their odorous, orange blood. Adults are attracted to ripening fruit and sometimes contaminate grape and wine juices with their bitter-tasting blood that contains alkaloids it uses as defensive chemicals."

However, our little buddies are always welcome in our pollinator garden. Aphids, not!

Okay, buds, go out and bust some more moves. 

While in the U.S. Army, UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock worked as medical officer in a burn clinic.  His mother served 15 years as a nurse in a children's hospital burn center.

Hammock, who now holds a joint appointment with the Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, knows too well what fire can do to victims.

So do other members of the Hammock lab and the Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UC CoM).

They've just published research in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences detailing their discovery of a key regulatory mechanism in inflammation that may lead to resolving inflammation in burn patients, as well as sepsis, cancer and COVID patients.

Basically, they discovered a pathway that regulates the immune response after infection or injury, such as burns. Dysregulation of this pathway could differentiate those who are at risk of fatal sepsis or help identify targets to resolve this unregulated inflammation.

“We are very excited about the findings in this paper and the far-reaching impacts it could have on understanding a key regulatory step in the immune response,” said co-lead author and researcher Cindy McReynolds of the Hammock lab and director of research at EicOsis, a Davis-based company founded by Hammock. Hammock, the corresponding author of the publication, has been involved in enzyme research for more than 50 years.

The eight-member team, using a rodent model, found that the metabolites of linoleic acid formed by the enzyme, soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), drive deleterious inflammation after injury. These metabolites, known as lipid mediators, regulate inflammation, blood pressure and pain. Drugs that inhibit the sEH enzyme and resolve inflammation could lead to a better patient outcome. 

“This dysregulation has fatal consequences in serious diseases such as COVID, cancer, sepsis, burn, where fatality rates can be as high as 40 percent in severe cases,” she said. “An understanding of these pathways can help identify patients at risk of developing serious disease or identify new therapeutic targets for treatment.”  

“The immunological disbalance we see in many cases of severe burn injury, trauma and sepsis pose a huge clinical challenge as we lack the understanding of how to diagnose and treat it,” said co-lead author Dr. Christian Bergmann, formerly with UC CoM's Department of Surgery and now headquartered in Germany with the University of Ulm's Department of Trauma Surgery, Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “With this work, we reveal an important mechanism how immune cells are functionally disabled by sEH-derived metabolites of linoleic acid.” 

 The research, titled "sEH-Derived Metabolites of Linoleic Acid Drive Pathologic Inflammation while Impairing Key Innate Immune Cell Function in Burn Injury,” is co-authored by Debin Wan, formerly of the Hammock lab and now a scientist at Escape Bio, San Francisco; Nalin Singh of the Hammock lab; and three UC CoM researchers: Charles Caldwell, professor and director, Division of Research, Department of Surgery; Dorothy Supp, adjunct professor in the Department of Surgery and a scientific staff member at Shriners Children's Ohio; and Holly Goetzman, principal research assistant in the Caldwell lab.

It's a complicated research project, but a crucial one to help humanity.

And that's what EicOsis is all about, as well.  Hammock founded EicOsis in December 2011 to advance novel, safe and effective oral treatments for patients suffering from pain and inflammation. The LLC is developing a new class of oral non-narcotic analgesics based on inhibition of the soluble epoxide hydrolase enzyme. Human clinical trials are underway to test the drug candidate, EC5026, a first-in-class, small molecule that potently inhibits sEH. The sEH inhibitors have already shown to be effective for inflammatory and neuropathic pain in animals, with no apparent adverse or addictive reactions.