If you attended the 2018 campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day and headed over to see the insects at Briggs Hall, home of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, you may have seen an enthusiastic drummer performing in The Entomology Band.

That was molecular geneticist Yao Cai, entertaining with several other members of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA). He was dressed--quite appropriately, too--as a fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which he described as “our favorite model organism in Insecta!” (See Bug Squad blog.)

Entomology Today, a publication of the Entomological Society of America, picked up the story, headlining it as "Bugs and Beats."

Now fast forward...past the two-year pandemic...and way over to 2022. Time flies, right?

Cai now holds a doctorate in entomology (as of September) and will present his exit seminar, "How Do Flies Tell the Time of Day?" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar, set Wednesday, Oct. 26.

He will deliver his seminar both in-person and virtually at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

Cai will be introduced by his major professor, molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the department. 

"Circadian clocks time daily rhythms inorganismal physiology and behavior to optimize health and fitness," Cai says in his abstract. In Drosophila, phosphorylation regulates time-of-day function of core clock proteins, including the transcriptional activator CLOCK (CLK). However, it remains unclear whether CLK phosphorylation facilitates the closure of the negative feedback loop. In this study, we demonstrated casein kinase 1 alpha (CK1α) as a CLK kinase and mapped CK1α-dependent CLK phosphorylation sites using mass spectrometry. Our genetic and biochemical analyses revealed that upon CK1α phosphorylation at CLK(S13), CLK occupancy at circadian promoters decreases, thereby sequestering CLK transcriptional activity. Moreover, our results suggest that the transcriptional repressor PERIOD (PER) facilitates CK1α-CLK interaction."

"This study highlights the importance of post-translational regulation of circadian rhythms," Cao noted. "Finally, together with previous studies in fungi and mammals, our results suggest a conserved feature in eukaryotic clocks by which transcriptional repressors recruit CK1s to modulate the activity of transcription activators."

A native of southeast Asia, Cai holds two degrees from China Agricultural University, Beijing: a bachelor of science degree (2014) in plant protection and a master's degree in entomology (2016).

What sparked his interest in entomology? "The insect world presented to me the diversity of species when I was a kid," he related. "Since then, I have wondered about the origin and evolution of species. I was lucky to cultivate my interest as an undergrad and then a master student in Chinese Agricultural University. As a PhD student in the Department of Entomology andNematology at UC Davis, this interest expanded to the cellular and molecular mechanisms of evolution and adaptation. Upon my graduation in summer 2022, I continued my postdoctoral research in the Chiu lab. I hope this will prepare me to become a professor in biological sciences."

Cai completed an International Chronobiology Summer School (virtual) in 2020 and a UC Davis Comprehensive Course in Flow Cytometry in 2019. His publications include: 

• Cai YD*, Joshi R*, Xia Y, Chiu JC, Emery P (2022) PERIOD phosphoclusters control temperature compensation of the Drosophila circadian clock, Frontiers in Physiology. 13: 888262.
  
  
• Cai YD, Sotelo SH, Jackson K, Chiu JC (2022) Assaying circadian locomotor activity rhythm in Drosophila, in “Circadian Rhythms” in NeuroMethods series. ed. M. Hatori, T. Hirota, and S. Panda. Springer Nature, Switzerland.
  
  
• Cai Y.D., Y. Xue, C. Truong, J. Del-Carmen Li, C. Ochoa, J.T. Vanselow, K.A. Murphy, Y.H. Li, X. Liu, B.L. Kunimoto, H. Zheng, C. Zhao, Y. Zhang, A. Schlosser, J.C. Chiu (2021). CK2 inhibits TIMELESS nuclear export and modulates CLOCK transcriptional activity to regulate circadian rhythms. Current Biology 31(3): 502-514.
  
  
• Cai, Y.D., J.C. Chiu (2021). Timeless in animal circadian clocks and beyond. FEBS Journal (Online ahead of print). doi: 10.1111/febs.16253.
  
  
• Abrieux, A., Y. Xue, Y. Cai, K.M. Lewald, H.N. Nguyen, Y. Zhang, J.C. Chiu. (2020). EYES ABSENT and TIMELESS integrate photoperiodic and temperature cues to regulate seasonal physiology in Drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. U.S.A. 117(26): 15293-15304. 

Active in academics, Cai served as a guest lecturer for Entomology 102 on the "Insect Nervous System" and for Entomology 10 on "Insect Circadian Rhythm." He also served as a teaching assistant for a number of UC Davis classes, including Applications, Values, and Ethics in Animal Research; Insect Physiology; Introduction to Biology: Ecology and Evolution; Introduction to Biology: Cell Functions; and Calculus for Biology and Medicine. In addition, he has assisted at Bohart Museum of Entomology open houses and at science program provided by Peregrine School, Davis.

Honored with a number of awards, Cai received a 2021 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Finance Students Abroad; a 2021 UC Davis Entomology W. Harry Lange, Jr. Memorial Travel Fund; 2021 UC Davis Marv Kinsey Scholarship; a 2020 Boroughs Welcome Fund Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) Excellence Award; a 2020 UC Davis Sean and Anne Duffey and Hugh and Geraldine Dingle Research Fellowship; a 2019 UC Davis McBeth Memorial Scholarship; and a 2018 and 2017 UC Davis Henry A. Jastro Graduate Research Awards, among others.

Emily Meineke, assistant professor of urban landscape entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, coordinates the department's seminars for the 2022-23 academic year. All 11 seminars will take place both person and virtually at 4:10 p.m. on Wednesdays in Room 122 of Briggs Hall except for the Nov. 9th and Dec. 7th seminars, which will be virtual only, she said.  (See list of seminars)

For further information on the seminars or to resolve any technical difficulties with Zoom, contact Meineke at ekmeineke@ucdavis.edu. 

If you missed hearing The Entomology Band performing in front of Briggs Hall during the recent UC Davis Picnic Day, not to worry.

They're featured in a recent Entomology Today blog, published by the Entomological Society of America (and written by yours truly) and headlined "Bugs and Beat."

Remember “Flight of the Bumble Bee,” “La Cucaracha,” “Boll Weevil,” and the “The Blue-Tailed Fly?”

Well, move over. Think about the three-cornered alfalfa hopper (Spissistilus festinus) and the male insect organ, the aedeagus.

 A group of seven graduate students in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology performed such tunes as “E Major Homeboy (Spissistilus festinus),” “Tragedy (of the Clocks),” and “Jackson's Song (Aedeagal Bits),” as well as a cover song, “Island in the Sun” by Weezer.  All are members of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association, headed by Brendon Boudinot, president.

Graduate student Michael Bollinger of the lab of Frank Zalom (a former president of the Entomological Society of America) composed the first three tunes.

The performance capped a day of insect-related activities that included maggot art, cockroach races, nematode identification, scavenger hunts, and honey tasting. Bugs rule!

Meet the septet:

• Molecular geneticist and drummer Yao “Fruit Fly” Cai of the Joanna Chiu lab dressed in a fruit fly costume (Drosophila melanogaster), which he described as “our favorite model organism in Insecta!”
• Bark beetle specialist and rhythm guitarist Jackson “Darth Beetle” Audley of the Steve Seybold lab portrayed an Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis).
• Honey bee researcher and bass guitarist Wei “Silverfish” Lin of the Brian Johnson lab wore a costume that celebrated his moniker (Lepisma saccharina), a small, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma.
• Ant specialist and keyboard artist Zachary “Leptanilla” Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab dressed as “a generic male leptanilline ant (Formicidae: Leptanillinae).” However, he noted “the yellow color is not anywhere near so vivid in real life.”
• Systematist and tenor saxophonist Jill “Jillus Saximus” Oberski of the Phil Ward lab dressed as a “generalized heteropteran,” which she described as “most likely a member of the family Acanthosomatidae (shield bug) or Pentatomidae (stink bug). My family and friends have called me Jillybug, so I came to be the band's representative of Hemiptera.”
• Molecular geneticist and vocalist Christine “The Clock” Tabuloc of the Joanna Chiu lab wrapped herself in butterfly wings.
• Ant specialist and bass guitarist Brendon “Hype Man-tis” Boudinot of the Phil Ward lab dressed in a green helmet, a blue and gold EGSA bee shirt, and a UC Davis cow costume to showcase his department and campus-wide love of bovines.

The seven band members share a love of music.

Drummer Yao Cai, who grew up in Southeast China and holds an undergraduate degree in plant protection and a master's degree from China Agricultural University, has been playing drums since age 17. “We formed as a short-lived band for a show. After that, I realized that I really wanted to keep playing and improved my drum techniques. Thus, we started another band in college and played for six years in college, as an undergrad and graduate student.

“We were all agriculture-related majors and we mainly wrote original songs,” recalled Cai. The campus concerts sometimes drew a thousand spectators. “After we graduated from graduate school, we stopped. I really missed the time playing drums with folks since I came to UC Davis. Fortunately, after a ‘gap year,' Jackson, Michael and I started jamming in September 2017. Later on, our current talented members joined.”

“It is very interesting that I was in a band that was the first band in Department of Entomology in China Agricultural University and now we started the first band in Department of Entomology at UC Davis,” Cai added.

Rhythm guitarist Jackson Audley said he “started learning to play the guitar when I was about 11 or 12-ish. The first band I joined was a Blink-182 cover band, in which I played the bass guitar, and we played together for most of eighth grade. Then in early high school I joined a Smashing Pumpkins/Radiohead cover band as the second guitarist. Shortly after joining that band, we started making predominantly original music. By the end of high school, we had played a few small shows around the Atlanta area and had recorded a few songs. Unfortunately, the band did not survive the transition into university and we broke up.”

Since then he's mostly played “for fun, and I like to jam with folks.”

Jill Oberski, a native of Twin Cities, grew up mostly in Chaska, “a sleepy suburb of Minnesota.” She received her bachelor's degree in Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she double-majored in biology and German studies.

“I started playing the piano in kindergarten and switched to saxophone in fifth grade,” Oberski related. “I played classical and jazz in my school bands from sixth grade through college and pit orchestra, pep band, and marching band in high school as well. I've always been better at classical than rock, jazz, or Latin.”

“I probably reached my highest point in late high school, when I served as co-section leader for the saxes in the Minnesota all-state symphonic band,” Oberski said. “We even got to play a concert in Minneapolis' orchestra hall. These days I'm only involved in the entomology band and some very casual ukulele playing.”

Keyboard artist Zachary Griebenow, a native of Richmond, Kentucky—he grew up in Kentucky and holds a bachelor's degree in entomology from The Ohio State University—said, “I took piano lessons for a cumulative total of seven years, ages 8 to 17. I performed at least biannually in studio recitals. My primary musical interest is composition, an activity that has not quite received its due on account of my prioritizing systematic entomology. I had never performed in a group prior to joining this band and greatly appreciate the novel experience of doing so.”

Brendon Boudinot, who received his bachelor's degree in entomology at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, performed on a metallic sky-blue bass and served as emcee. “I just love art,” said Boudinot, president of the UC Davis EGSA. “Music is a family thing for me in a number of different ways. Although I have played instruments alone or in groups for many years, nothing really clicked in me until I heard Michael and Yao play together. They shred.”

Vocalist Christine Anne Tabuloc, who grew up in the Los Angeles area and received her bachelor's degree from UC Davis in biochemistry and molecular biology, says she does not play an instrument. “I'm far less talented than everyone else in the group,” she quipped. “I've been singing for as long as I can remember. I've been writing lyrics since elementary school. However, I never got around to getting music written for them. I was in choir before and have had solos but that's pretty much it.”

Bass guitarist Wei Lin, who grew up in Xiamen, “a beautiful island in southern China,” received his bachelor's and master's degree at China Agricultural University, majoring in plant protection and entomology. “This was my first experience in a band. I just started to learn bass last year when this band was built.”

Following the four-set gig, Boudinot told the appreciative crowd, “That's all we know!”

Pending performances? “The band,” he said, “is on hiatus.”

Or diapause.

(Editor's Note: Listen to a clips of their music on YouTube.)