Dr. DeWayane Shoemaker and Holly Brabazon in Belize

Graduate Student Studies Cacao Pollination in Belize

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    The summer of 2022 was different for one entomology and plant pathology graduate student. Holly Brabazon, a doctoral student pursuing a concentration in bioinformatics, genomics, and molecular interactions, found herself over 2,500 miles away from Knoxville, TN, researching the pollination of Theobroma cacao, or the cocoa plant, in Belize. Cacao is mainly pollinated by biting midges, flies that are around the size of a pin head. Despite being a main pollinator of cacao, the midges often do a poor job pollinating cacao trees. “Successful cacao pollination is problematic in many regions. Only around 10%-20% of the flowers produced by a cacao tree are successfully pollinated” stated DeWayne Shoemaker, department head and professor in the Department of Entomology and

Portrait Dr. DeWayne Shoemaker

On Valentine’s Day, Thank a No-See-Um

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    Our Department Head, Dr. DeWayne Shoemaker, was featured in the UT News Science & Health for his work in cacao and chocolate. Thanks to research like Dr. Shoemaker’s, we can better understand cacao production and promote the education of the topic.  Dr. Shoemaker has made the journey to Belize to further his studies and has plans to do so again later this year. He also teaches the course “Chocolate—Bean to Bar”, which has received great enthusiasm from its students. Please check out the full article, titled On Valentine’s Day, Thank a No-See-Um

Closeup of the head to Solenopsis geminata (fire ant)

Joint Evolution of Asexuality and Queen Number in an Ant

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A recent paper in Current Biology by DeWayne Shoemaker and colleagues from the University of Georgia describes a socially polymorphic population of the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata, in which multi-queen colonies produce queens asexually but produce workers sexually via matings with males from the sexually reproducing single-queen social form. Two distinct asexual lineages from multi-queen colonies likely originated from the same sexual single-queen population. Multiple asexual/polygyne genomes are transmitted undiluted in this system, but sterile workers produced with sperm from a sexually-reproducing/monogyne population are necessary for the persistence of these lineages. The intersection of social polymorphism, facultative asexuality, and genetic caste determination marks this population of S. geminata as an embodiment of the diversity of ant reproductive systems and suggests previously

Tomatoes and peppers in various sizes and colors on display

UTIA Scientists Publish Paper on Role of Citizen Science in Addressing Agricultural Challenges

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Dr. Sean Ryan, a postdoctoral researcher in the EPP Department, Dr. DeWayne Shoemaker, and an international team of more than three dozen researchers published a paper highlighting the potential of citizen science to address pressing research challenges in agriculture and food systems. One key to capitalizing on such efforts, the researchers find, may be to build stronger ties between citizen science and agricultural extension efforts. A press article summarizing the article is here and a free copy (open access) of the original paper can be downloaded from the journal web site.

Close-up of a fire ant; note the large head and mandibles

Recent Article: Sociometry of Solenopsis Geminata Reveals Variation in Colony-Level Phenotypes in Fire Ants

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Abstract: In social insects, natural selection operates at the level of the colony, rather than the individual, but our understanding of how colony-level phenotypes arise and vary between species is lacking. Here, we test how colony-level phenotypes vary within the fire ants by measuring the composition of colonies of the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata, over a wide range of sizes at multiple times throughout the year. Similar to the well-studied fire ant species S. invicta, we find that S. geminata colony composition varies strongly with colony size, such that as colonies grow they produce increasingly large workers as well as queens and males. However, major production increases more rapidly with colony size in S. geminata than in S. invicta,

North American fire ants surround and protect their significantly much larger queen

New Genetic Study Reveals Cryptic Diversity in the Native North American Fire Ants

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The native North American fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood) comprise a difficult group taxonomically that has undergone multiple revisions in the past century yet remains in a state of taxonomic uncertainty. The results of our genetic study demonstrated that the recognised North American fire ant species represent evolutionarily independent entities. We also confirm the presumed sister status of the desert fire ants, S. aurea Wheeler and S. amblychila Wheeler. However, we also found tat least two genetically divergent populations within the nominal species boundaries, including a western form of S. xyloni and a distinct population of S. aurea. These results suggest that the current taxonomy does not fully capture the species‐level diversity in this group. Our study provides the molecular foundation for