Development, Evolution, and Diversification of Beetle Horns

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Biologists have some understanding of the genetic, developmental, and ecological mechanisms that cause the traits of organisms, such as the length of a leg or the width of a wing, to change over time. However, they have a limited understanding of the mechanisms that allow traits such as legs or wings to originate in first place. Dr. Armin Moczek is interested in understanding the genetic, developmental, and ecological mechanisms that are involved not just in the modification of preexisting traits, but in their actual origins. His research program is designed to uncover the genetic and developmental origins and subsequent evolutionary diversification of traits that are both novel and highly diverse: the horns of beetles. Many thousands of beetle species have evolved horns used as weapons in male competition over females, and a remarkable diversity of horn types exists. Preliminary results suggest that the origin of horns has been made possible by the use of a wide diversity of genes and developmental processes normally reserved for the development of appendages such as legs or mouthparts. The horns of beetles therefore offer an outstanding opportunity to study how nature reorganizes developmental and genetic processes in order to evolve a novel class of traits for new functions. Dr. Moczek's research combines genetic and developmental approaches to address how beetle horns originated and diversified. He will interface this work with several educational/outreach efforts. First, he will expand the scope and quality of undergraduate education in insect biology through development of an undergraduate course in Entomology. Dr. Moczek has also established a collaboration with a local children's museum of science, health and technology to provide training and educational resources in insect biology to over 120 elementary and middle school teachers. He will train at least 8 young scientists in intensive interdisciplinary research and facilitate educational outreach by recruiting 6 high school teachers and 3 minority high school students into a summer research program in development, evolution, and ecology.