DISSERTATION RESEARCH: A global molecular phylogeny of the problematic genus Epyris (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae)

寄生蜂遍布世界各地，为了完成它们的生命周期，它们首先寄生另一种昆虫，并最终杀死它。有些黄蜂是潜在的生物控制剂，因为它们寄生主要害虫，如咖啡果螟和脐橙橙子虫，甚至是目前正在毁灭北美硬木森林的绿灰螟。 寄生蜂在控制破坏性昆虫方面的农业和经济重要性是显而易见的，但选择正确的黄蜂是困难的。寄生蜂种类繁多，选择错误的黄蜂可能会产生可怕的后果-它们可能会将本地黄蜂从类似的小生境中驱逐出去，并成为害虫。研究进化历史和产生系统发育树，解释不同群体的黄蜂之间的关系，有助于应用昆虫学家提供一个必要的比较框架，生物学标准可以评估。有了寄生发生学，昆虫学家可以追踪寄主选择的进化、地理变化，并测试对引入寄生蜂成功的预测。作为一个更广泛的影响倡议，研究人员将建立一个以前成功的科学漫画系列，使用寄生蜂作为一个引人入胜的话题，向高中生介绍寄生虫学，进化和系统学的主题。在这个项目中，研究重点是Epyris黄蜂，Bethylidae中最大的属之一，已被证明是非单系的，这意味着它可能由几个不同的属组成。 在先前的研究中，来自26个国家的150个Epyrinae分类群基于来自5个基因（16 S，CytB，COI，18 S和28 S）的DNA序列的进化树导致了非单系Epyris。虽然该属是多系的，目前的限制，有单系群的命名Epyris物种分布在整个Epyrinae可能代表新的属需要描述。为了更好地解决Epyrinae之间的关系，这项新研究将包括代表潜在新属的50种Epyris，并将添加三个核蛋白编码基因数据集--延伸因子-1 α，长波长视蛋白和无翅--最终形成一个包含8个基因和200个分类群的矩阵。将使用简约法、最大似然法和贝叶斯系统发育方法分析这些数据。这三个蛋白质编码基因有望解决先前的基因组学中存在的模糊性，并为新的属提供更大的支持。有了这个新的系统发生学和随后的形态分析，研究人员将修改旧Epyris的分类，描述新的属，并为Epyrinae产生一个新的识别码，以广泛传播。

Parasitoid wasps are found worldwide and in order to complete their life cycle they first parasitize another insect and eventually kill it. Some wasps are potential biocontrol agents because they parasitize major pest insects such as the Coffee Berry Borer and Navel Orange Worm, and even the Emerald Ash Borer, which currently decimates North American hardwood forests. The agricultural and economic importance of parasitoid wasps in controlling destructive insects is clear, but choosing the correct wasp is difficult. Parasitoid wasps are extremely diverse and choosing the wrong wasp can have dire consequences - they may oust native wasps from similar niches and become pests themselves. Studying the evolutionary history and producing phylogenetic trees explaining the relationships amongst different groups of wasps helps applied entomologists by providing a necessary comparative framework upon which biological criteria can be assessed. With a phylogeny, entomologists can track the evolution of host choice, biogeographical changes, and test predictions of introduced parasitoid success. As a broader impact initiative, the researchers will build off of a previously successful series of science comics, using parasitoid wasps as an engaging topic to introduce high school students to topics of parasitoidism, evolution, and systematics. In this project, the research focus is on the Epyris wasps, one of the largest genera in Bethylidae, which has been shown to be non-monophyletic, meaning that it is likely composed of several distinct genera. In prior research, a phylogeny of 150 Epyrinae taxa from 26 countries based upon DNA sequences from five genes (16S, CytB, COI, 18S and 28S) resulted in an evolutionary tree with a non-monophyletic Epyris. While the genus is polyphyletic as currently circumscribed, there were monophyletic groups of named Epyris species spread throughout Epyrinae phylogeny that likely represent new genera in need of description. To better resolve relationships among Epyrinae, fifty more species of Epyris representing potentially new genera will be included within this new research and three nuclear protein-coding gene data sets -- Elongation factor-1 alpha, long-wavelength Opsin, and Wingless -- will be added, resulting in a final matrix comprising eight genes and 200 taxa. These data will be analyzed using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian phylogenetic methods. The three protein-coding genes are expected to resolve ambiguities present in prior phylogenies and provide greater support for new genera. With this new phylogeny, and subsequent morphological analysis, the researchers will revise the taxonomy of the old Epyris, describe new genera, and produce a new identification key for the Epyrinae for broad dissemination.