Dissertation Research: Evolution of the True Cutworms (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Inferred from Nuclear Genes

论文研究：从核基因推断真正的地老虎（鳞翅目：夜蛾科）的进化

• 批准号: 9623799
• 负责人: Charles Mitter
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-08-15 至 1998-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9623799&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Evolution; True; Cutworms

9623799 MITTER Interactions among contemporary insect species and the plants they feed on are strongly influenced by their shared historical relationships, suggesting an important role for phylogenies (genealogies of species) in explaining patterns of hostplant use. Recent work on the phylogeny of the huge moth family Noctuidae (about 25,000 species), previously poorly understood, indicates that a "true cutworm" lineage may exist, which combines approximately 8,000 species from four traditional subfamilies into a single large subfamily, the Noctuinae. Unlike most other noctuids, Noctuinae typically (though not invariably) possess caterpillars that are "cryptic" (inconspicuously colored, not easy to observe) and feed on non-woody plants. Most often, these caterpillars have broad food plant preferences, and frequently they are pests. In this research, doctoral student Andrew Mitchell, under the direction of Charles Mitter and Jerome Regier, will use the DNA sequences of two nuclear genes to more critically assess the phylogenetic relationships among the insects in the Noctuinae. Mitchell, Mitter and Regier will analyze Elongation Factor-1 alpha (EF-1a) and Dopa Decarboxylase (DDC) DNA sequences from 50 species, representing all major subgroups (tribes and subtribes) within the subfamily, to define the limits of and estimate the relationships among these groups. The phylogeny will then be used to determine when, over the long history of the cutworm moth group, species have adopted different geographic distributions, modes of feeding and diet preferences. In particular, the studies should help determine whether species that share any of these features are closely, or only distantly, related. Knowledge of this basic biology of the cutworm moths may assist efforts to manage pest species.

小行星9623799 当代昆虫物种和植物之间的相互作用，他们喂养的强烈影响，他们共同的历史关系，这表明一个重要的作用，为物种系谱（物种系谱）在解释寄主植物的使用模式。 最近对庞大的蛾科夜蛾科（约25，000种）的生殖发育的研究表明，可能存在一个“真正的切根虫”谱系，它将来自四个传统亚科的约8，000种昆虫组合成一个单一的大亚科，即夜蛾亚科。 与大多数其他昆虫不同的是，夜蛾亚科通常（但并非总是）拥有“神秘”的毛虫（颜色不明显，不容易观察），并以非木本植物为食。 大多数情况下，这些毛毛虫有广泛的食物植物偏好，而且经常是害虫。 在这项研究中，博士生安德鲁·米切尔在查尔斯·米特和杰罗姆·雷杰的指导下，将使用两个核基因的DNA序列来更严格地评估夜蛾亚科昆虫之间的系统发育关系。 Mitchell，Mitter和Regier将分析来自50个物种的延伸因子-1 α（EF-1a）和多巴脱羧酶（DDC）DNA序列，代表亚科内的所有主要亚组（部落和亚部落），以定义这些群体之间的限制和估计它们之间的关系。 然后，将使用遗传学来确定在地老虎蛾群的漫长历史中，物种何时采用了不同的地理分布、进食模式和饮食偏好。 特别是，这些研究应该有助于确定具有这些特征的物种是密切相关，还是只是远亲。 了解地老虎蛾的这种基本生物学知识可能有助于管理害虫物种。