Digital Commons Network^™

Encapsulation And Release Of Calcein From Herceptin-Conjugated Eliposomes, Mah Noor Zafar, William G. Pitt, Ghaleb A. Husseini

Faculty Publications

Achieving an optimal therapeutic level is crucial in effectively eradicating cancer cells during treatment. However, conventional chemotherapy-associated systemic administration of anticancer agents leads to many side effects. To achieve the desired control over the target site, active targeting of HER2-positive breast cancer cells can be achieved by conjugating liposomal vesicles with Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2) and inducing release of the encapsulated drug using ultrasound. To further enhance the delivery efficiency, nanoemulsion droplets exhibiting responsiveness to low-frequency ultrasound are encapsulated within these lipid vesicles. In this study, we prepared four different liposomal formulations, namely pegylated liposomes …

Now It’S Your Turn!: Eye Blink Rate In A Jenga Task Modulated By Interaction Of Task Wait Times, Effortful Control, And Internalizing Behaviors, Kelley E. Gunther

Faculty Publications

Dopamine is a versatile neurotransmitter with implications in many domains, including anxiety and effortful control. Where high levels of effortful control are often regarded as adaptive, other work suggests that high levels of effortful control may be a risk factor for anxiety. Dopamine signaling may be key in understanding these relations. Eye blink rate is a non-invasive proxy metric of midbrain dopamine activity. However, much work with eye blink rate has been constrained to screen-based tasks which lack in ecological validity. We tested whether changes in eye blink rate during a naturalistic effortful control task differ as a function of …

17O-Excess In Tropical Cyclones Reflects Local Rain Re-Evaporation More Than Moisture Source Conditions, Chijun Sun, Timothy Shanahan, Shaoneng He, Adriana Bailey, Jesse Nusbaumer, Jun Hu, Aubrey Hillman, Erika Ornouski, Jacob Warner, Kristine Delong

Faculty Publications

17O-excess is a relatively new water isotope parameter that could potentially provide useful information about the hydrological cycle. Previous works focusing on 17O-excess in polar regions suggest that it primarily tracks moisture source relative humidity, but little is known about how to interpret 17O-excess data in lower latitudes. Here we present quasi-hourly triple oxygen isotope data of precipitation collected from two tropical cyclones in Texas and Louisiana in 2020 to understand the impacts of environmental and meteorological processes on the 17O-excess of low-to mid-latitude precipitation. We find that at both hourly timescales and the event scale, 17O-excess is strongly correlated …

Assessing Beef Producers' Interest In Cooperative Business Models In New Hampshire, Maine, And Vermont, E M. Enzien, Peter S. Erickson, Analena B. Bruce, C W. Knight, Andrew B. Conroy

Faculty Publications

This study assessed the characteristics of northern New England producers and their willingness to participate in cooperative marketing (CM) or cooperative processing (CoP) of beef cattle. A survey was conducted with producers in the region. Pearson correlation coeffi- cients were used to evaluate whether producers were will- ing to participate in CM or CoP. Two multiple regression models were created using variance inflation procedures and backward elimination to predict whether producers were likely to participate in CM and CoP. A total of 174 surveys were returned and 161 were usable for analysis. Producers in- terested in CoP were likely also …

Reassignment Of A Junior Synonym Of Lepisosteus Oculatus Winchell 1864 To L. Platostomus Rafinesque 1820, Daniel Sinopoli, Thomas J. Near, Solomon R. David, Prosanta Chakrabarty

Faculty Publications

The foundation for the current taxonomy of Lepisosteidae (gars) was laid by Suttkus (1963) and Wiley (1976); these authors recognized only two extant genera as valid, Lepisosteus and Atractosteus. These authors also only recognized seven living species of gars and assigned several previously recognized species as junior synonyms. One of these, Lepisosteus oculatus Winchell 1864 possesses five junior synonyms: Cylindrosteus latirostris Girard 1858, Cylindrosteus productus Cope 1865, Cylindrosteus agassizii Duméril 1870, Cylindrosteus zadockii Duméril 1870 and Cylindrosteus bartonii Duméril 1870. Cylindrosteus zadockii was described from two syntypes collected from the “Upper Mississippi River” (MHNH 5799, 5800; Figure 1), and was …

Study Protocol: Identifying Transcriptional Regulatory Alterations Of Chronic Effects Of Blast And Disturbed Sleep In United States Veterans, Molly J. Sullan, Kelly A. Stearns-Yoder, Zhaoyu Wang, Andrew J. Hoisington, Adam D. Brenoweth, Walter Carr, Yongchao Ge, Hanga Galfalvy, Fatemah Haghighi, Lisa A. Brenner

Faculty Publications

Injury related to blast exposure dramatically rose during post-911 era military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is among the most common injuries following blast, an exposure that may not result in a definitive physiologic marker (e.g., loss of consciousness). Recent research suggests that exposure to low level blasts and, more specifically repetitive blast exposure (RBE), which may be subconcussive in nature, may also impact long term physiologic and psychological outcomes, though findings have been mixed. For military personnel, blast-related injuries often occur in chaotic settings (e.g., combat), which create challenges in the immediate assessment of …

Dissociating Reading And Auditory Comprehension In Persons With Aphasia, Rachel M. Harrington, Sigfus Kristinsson, Janina Wilmskoetter, Natalie Busby, Dirk Den Ouden, Chris Rorden, Julius Fridriksson Ph.D., Leonardo Bonilha

Faculty Publications

Language comprehension is often affected in individuals with post-stroke aphasia. However, deficits in auditory comprehension are not fully correlated with deficits in reading comprehension and the mechanisms underlying this dissociation remain unclear. This distinction is important for understanding language mechanisms, predicting long-term impairments and future development of treatment interventions. Using comprehensive auditory and reading measures from a large cohort of individuals with aphasia, we evaluated the relationship between aphasia type and reading comprehension impairments, the relationship between auditory versus reading comprehension deficits and the crucial neuroanatomy supporting the dissociation between post-stroke reading and auditory deficits. Scores from the Western Aphasia …

Influence Of Climate Zone Shifts On Forest Ecosystems In Northeastern United States And Maritime Canada, Samuel Roy, Xinyuan Wei, Aaron Weiskittel, Daniel J. Hayes, Peter Nelson, Alexandra R. Contosta

Faculty Publications

Climate zones play a significant role in shaping the forest ecosystems located within them by influencing multiple ecological processes, including growth, disturbances, and species interactions. Therefore, delineation of current and future climate zones is essential to establish a framework for understanding and predicting shifts in forest ecosystems. In this study, we developed and applied an efficient approach to delineate regional climate zones in the northeastern United States and maritime Canada, aiming to characterize potential shifts in climate zones and discuss associated changes in forest ecosystems. The approach comprised five steps: climate data dimensionality reduction, sampling scenario design, cluster generation, climate …

Selective Vapor Condensation For The Synthesis And Assembly Of Spherical Colloids With A Precise Rough Patch, Kennedy A. Guillot, Philip J. Brahana, Ahmed Al Harraq, Nduka D. Ogbonna, Nicholas S. Lombardo, Jimmy Lawrence, Yaxin An, Michael G. Benton, Bhuvnesh Bharti

Faculty Publications

Patchy particles occupy an increasingly important space in soft matter research due to their ability to assemble into intricate phases and states. Being able to fine-tune the interactions among these particles is essential to understanding the principles governing the self-assembly processes. However, current fabrication techniques often yield patches that deviate chemically and physically from the native particles, impeding the identification of the driving forces behind self-assembly. To overcome this challenge, we propose a new approach to synthesizing spherical colloids with a well-defined rough patch on their surface. By treating polystyrene microspheres with vapors of a good solvent, here an acetone-water …

Ascophyllum Nodosum Swe Enhances Root Anatomy, But Not Pod Activity In Both A Salt-Tolerant And Salt-Sensitive Soybean (Glycine Max) Variety Exposed To Salt Stress, Elena Hoang, Paul Stephenson

Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence that seaweed extracts (SWE) may be a solution for mitigating the negative effects of salt stress on crop yield and quality, as they introduce bioactive ingredients able to regulate the expression of growth-inducing and stress-responsive genes. We demonstrate that SWE slightly ameliorated the negative physical growth effects of salt stress, especially in the root anatomy of the salt-sensitive (Clark) variety. The SWE did not stimulate or enhance peroxidase (POD) activity in either the salt-sensitive (Clark) or salt-tolerant variety (Manokin). However, a complete assessment of other antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX) involved in the ROS detoxification process …

A Quantum Logic Gate In The Dna Deoxyribose Moiety, F. Matthew Mihelic

Faculty Publications

The deoxyribose moiety of a nucleotide in the DNA molecule can act as a quantumlogic gate, in which the enantiomeric shift between the C2-endo and C3-endo conformations of each nucleotide, occurs within a logically and thermodynamically reversible situation of electron spin qubits, that are coherently held within the topologically insulating DNA crystalline nanostructure, and that are coherently conducted along the delocalized electrons of the pi-stacked nucleotide base pairs. The enantiomeric symmetry between the C2-endo and C3-endo conformations is logically and thermodynamically reversible because it functions as a symmetry-breaking Szilard engine that is effectively built out of the physicality of the …

Emergent Potential Of The Terahertz Cmos Microprocessor, F. Matthew Mihelic

Faculty Publications

The terahertz speed CMOS microprocessor that has been designed by Averoses Incorporated (US11063118B1) utilizes nano-vacuum tube elements with plasma interconnect of those elements, and has the capability to emit, detect, conduct, and analyze electromagnetic signals in the terahertz range. Nano-vacuum tube systems are resistant to ionizing radiation and to high temperatures, and there are emergent potentials of such systems beyond the obvious speed-up of data processing. Such a microprocessor can provide a platform for compact terahertz spectroscopy, especially for organic molecules, and this can also include DNA sequencing and DNA fingerprinting. Another emergent quality of such a system is that, …

Examining The Utility Of The Early Childhood Development Index (Ecdi) Among Children In The Nigeria Context, Ngozi V. Enelamah, Smitha Rao, Margaret Lombe, Mansoo Yu, Chrisann Newransky, Chrisann Newransky, Melissa L. Villodas, Andrew Foell, Von Nebbitt

Faculty Publications

An estimated 6 million children under the age of five in Nigeria (out of nearly 31 million) risk not reaching their full developmental potential. The dearth of context-relevant measures poses a challenge to the planning and implementation of effective interventions. This study assesses the utility of the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) in Nigeria. We used the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys to track progress among 3- to 4-year-old children (n = 11,073); 3-year-old, 51%; female, 49%. Using random calibration samples, the results from psychometric tests indicate that while over half of the children were on track in their development based …

Antifungal Efficacy Of Nanodelivered Azoxystrobin Against Rhizoctonia Solani In Soybean (Glycine Max), Eban A. Hanna, Carlos E. Astete, Trey Price, Carlos Tamez, Omar E. Mendez, Alvaro Garcia, Fannyuy V. Kewir, Jason C. White, Cristina M. Sabliov

Faculty Publications

Zein nanoparticles (ZNP) (189.4 ± 2.0 nm, +25.7 ± 0.9 mV) and lignin nanoparticles (LNP) (173.6 ± 0.9 nm, - 56.5 ± 2.8 mV) with loaded azoxystrobin (AZO) (5.2 ± 0.8 and 5.5 ± 0.7 wt %, respectively) were designed as antifungal delivery systems for seed treatments. Both particles followed pseudo-first-order kinetics for AZO release at 25 °C, with AZO releasing faster from ZNP. AZO-entrapped ZNP treatments produced the greatest yield (41.15 bushels), followed by empty LNP (40.35 bushels) for inoculated samples; these findings were comparable to yields achieved with the commercial AZO formulation, Dynasty. The stand per row feet …

The Prevalence Of Gram-Negative Bacteria With Difficult-To-Treat Resistance And Utilization Of Novel Β-Lactam Antibiotics In The Southeastern United States, Y. Vivian Tsai, P. Brandon Bookstaver Pharm.D., Joseph Kohn, Julie Ann Justo, Darrell Childress, Stefanie Stramel, Douglas Slain, Patrick Tu, Mary Joyce B. Wingler, Bruce M. Jones, Daniel T. Anderson, Megan M. Seddon, David A. Cretella, Joshua Eudy, Hana Winders, Kayla Antosz Pharm.D., Pamela Bailey, Majdi N. Al-Hasan

Faculty Publications

Objective:

To evaluate temporal trends in the prevalence of gram-negative bacteria (GNB) with difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR) in the southeastern United States. Secondary objective was to examine the use of novel β-lactams for GNB with DTR by both antimicrobial use (AU) and a novel metric of adjusted AU by microbiological burden (am-AU). Design:

Retrospective, multicenter, cohort. Setting:

Ten hospitals in the southeastern United States. Methods:

GNB with DTR including Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter spp. from 2015 to 2020 were tracked at each institution. Cumulative AU of novel β-lactams including ceftolozane/tazobactam, ceftazidime/avibactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam, and cefiderocol in days of therapy (DOT) …

Keeping Kosher In The Age Of Ai, Chaim Saiman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Escalating Uncertainties Require Institutional Transformation To Support Epistemological Pluralism, Jennifer F. Brewer, Holly M. Hapke

Faculty Publications

As marine conservation challenges intensify with accelerating anthropogenic change, informing public deliberation about difficult trade-offs requires commitment to epistemological pluralism. Robust integration of social sciences can improve the realism of policy debates by explicating a range of potential social-ecological outcomes. Funders have long incentivized interdisciplinarity, yet progress is insufficient and embedded in a political economy of knowledge production. Failure to substantively address inequities can stymie collaboration. Institutional expectations for promotion and tenure rarely recognize the extent to which deep engagement transforms epistemological norms and scholarly outputs. Several organizations and programs offer relevant experience and resources. Senior scholars can use their …

Escalating Uncertainties Require Institutional Transformation To Support Epistemological Pluralism, Jennifer F. Brewer, Holly M. Hapke

Faculty Publications

As marine conservation challenges intensify with accelerating anthropogenic change, informing public deliberation about difficult trade-offs requires commitment to epistemological pluralism. Robust integration of social sciences can improve the realism of policy debates by explicating a range of potential social-ecological outcomes. Funders have long incentivized interdisciplinarity, yet progress is insufficient and embedded in a political economy of knowledge production. Failure to substantively address inequities can stymie collaboration. Institutional expectations for promotion and tenure rarely recognize the extent to which deep engagement transforms epistemological norms and scholarly outputs. Several organizations and programs offer relevant experience and resources. Senior scholars can use their …

Sortase-Encoding Genes, Srta And Srtc, Mediate Enterococcus Faecalis Og1rf Persistence In The Helicoverpa Zea Gastrointestinal Tract, Jerreme J. Jackson, Samantha Heyer, Geneva Bell

Faculty Publications

Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal and opportunistic pathogen in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of mammals and insects. To investigate mechanisms of bacterial persistence in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), we developed a non-destructive sampling model using Helicoverpa zea, a destructive agricultural pest, as host to study the role of bacterial sortase enzymes in mitigating persistence in the gastrointestinal tract. E. faecalis OG1RF ΔsrtA and E. faecalis OG1RF ΔsrtC, isogenic E. faecalis OG1RF sortase mutants grew similarly under planktonic growth conditions relative to a streptomycin-resistant E. faecalis OG1RFS WT in vitro but displayed impaired biofilm formation under, both, physiological and alkaline conditions. …

Multi-Decadal Coastal Acidification In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Driven By Climate Change And Eutrophication, Zong Pei Jiang, Cao Qin, Yiwen Pan, Chengfeng Le, Nancy Rabalais, Robert Eugene Turner, Katja Fennel, Kui Wang, Wei Jun Cai

Faculty Publications

Coastal waters often experience enhanced ocean acidification due to the combined effects of climate change and regional biological and anthropogenic activities. Through reconstructing summertime bottom pH in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 1986 to 2019, we demonstrated that eutrophication-fueled respiration dominated bottom pH changes on intra-seasonal and interannual timescales, resulting in recurring acidification coinciding with hypoxia. However, the multi-decadal acidification trend was principally driven by rising atmospheric CO2 and ocean warming, with more acidified and less buffered hypoxic waters exhibiting a higher rate of pH decline (− 0.0023 yr^{− 1}) compared to non-hypoxic waters (− 0.0014 yr …

Modulation Of Methoxyfenozide Release From Lignin Nanoparticles Made Of Lignin Grafted With Pcl By Rop And Acylation Grafting Methods, Alvaro Garcia, Carlos E. Astete, Rafael Cueto, Cristina M. Sabliov

Faculty Publications

An efficient and sustainable agriculture calls for the development of novel agrochemical delivery systems able to release agrochemicals in a controlled manner. This study investigated the controlled release of the insecticide methoxyfenozide (MFZ) from lignin (LN) nanoparticles (LNPs). LN-grafted poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (LN-g-PCL) polymers were synthesized using two grafting methods, ring-opening polymerization (ROP)(LN-g-PCLp) and acylation reaction (LN-g-PCLa), creating polymers capable of self-assembling into nanoparticles of different properties, without surfactants. The LN-g-PCLp polymers exhibited a degree of polymerization (DP) from 22 to 101, demonstrating enhanced thermal stability after LN incorporation. LNPs loaded with MFZ exhibited a spherical core-shell structure with a hydrophilic LN …

Examining The Impact Of Stream Permanence On Headwater Stream Carbon Emissions, Hannah D. Conroy, Erin R. Hotchkiss, Kaelin M. Cawley, Keli Goodman, Jeremy B. Jones, Wilfred M. Wollheim, David Butman

Faculty Publications

Quantifying headwater stream carbon emissions is important for our understanding of the global carbon cycle because these emissions (an estimated 0.93-1.15 Pg C year) can be substantial compared to the terrestrial flux. Headwater stream networks can have high emissions due to their coupling with the terrestrial environment and high turbulence with some estimates predicting headwater stream networks can contribute 70% of the global riverine stream emissions. These carbon emissions are challenging to predict, especially with regards to headwater stream network spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The majority of headwater streams exhibit changes in stream network area on a seasonal basis, and these locations …

Interactions Between Soil Mineral Composition And Particulate Organic Matter Mediate Bioavailable Nitrogen, Andrea Jilling, Marian Carrell, A Stuart Grandy, Rachel Hestrin, Marco Keiluweit, Erik Knatvold, Andrew Whitaker

Faculty Publications

Soil organic matter (SOM) can supply critical quantities of nitrogen (N) to plants, but fundamental questions remain regarding from what pools and by which processes plants and microbes obtain N. The source of bioavailable N is generally assigned to polymeric or particulate organic matter (POM), but in mineral soils, POM is often a minor pool of N and can be a poor predictor of bioavailable N or plant N uptake. Mounting evidence suggests mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) is significantly more dynamic than previously assumed and may serve as an important source of N for plants and microbes. The abundance and …

Interactions Between Soil Mineral Composition And Particulate Organic Matter Mediate Bioavailable Nitrogen, Andrea Jilling, Marian Carrell, A Stuart Grandy, Rachel Hestrin, Marco Keiluweit, Erik Knatvold, Andrew Whitaker

Faculty Publications

Soil organic matter (SOM) can supply critical quantities of nitrogen (N) to plants, but fundamental questions remain regarding from what pools and by which processes plants and microbes obtain N. The source of bioavailable N is generally assigned to polymeric or particulate organic matter (POM), but in mineral soils, POM is often a minor pool of N and can be a poor predictor of bioavailable N or plant N uptake. Mounting evidence suggests mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) is significantly more dynamic than previously assumed and may serve as an important source of N for plants and microbes. The abundance and …

Now It’S Your Turn!: Eye Blink Rate In A Jenga Task Modulated By Interaction Of Task Wait Times, Effortful Control, And Internalizing Behaviors, Kelley E. Gunther, Xiaoxue Fu Ph.D., Leigha A. Macneill, Morgan Jones, Briana Ermanni, Koraly Pérez-Edgar

Faculty Publications

Dopamine is a versatile neurotransmitter with implications in many domains, including anxiety and effortful control. Where high levels of effortful control are often regarded as adaptive, other work suggests that high levels of effortful control may be a risk factor for anxiety. Dopamine signaling may be key in understanding these relations. Eye blink rate is a non-invasive proxy metric of midbrain dopamine activity. However, much work with eye blink rate has been constrained to screen-based tasks which lack in ecological validity. We tested whether changes in eye blink rate during a naturalistic effortful control task differ as a function of …

Assessing Forage Research And Education Needs Of Organic Dairy Farms In The United States, Eric Hatungimana, Heather M. Darby, Kathy J. Soder, Sara E. Ziegler, Andre F. Brito, Lisa Kissing Kucek, Heathcliffe Riday, E Charles Brummer

Faculty Publications

The viability of organic dairy operations in the United States (US) relies on forage production. The objectives of this study were to (1) assess producer and farm information regarding current forage production practices and producer knowledge gaps and (2) identify forage research and educational needs of organic dairy producers across the US. A survey was distributed to 643 organic dairy producers across the US, with 165 respondents (26% response rate). A focus group consisting of extension professionals, university researchers and staff, consultants, dairy industry representatives and organic dairy producers was also consulted for forage research needs. Results showed that approximately …

Computational Design Of An Electro-Organocatalyst For Conversion Of Co2 Into Formaldehyde, Foroogh Khezeli, Craig Plaisance

Faculty Publications

Density functional theory calculations employing a hybrid implicit/explicit solvation method were used to explore a new strategy for electrochemical conversion of CO2 using an electro-organocatalyst. A particular structural motif is identified that consists of an electron-rich vicinal enediamine (>N-C═C-N<) backbone, which is capable of activating CO2 by the formation of a C-C bond while subsequently facilitating the transfer of electrons from a chemically inert cathode to ultimately produce formaldehyde. Unlike transition metal-based electrocatalysts, the electro-organocatalyst is not constrained by scaling relations between the formation energies of activated CO2 and adsorbed CO, nor is it expected to be active for the competing hydrogen evolution reaction. The rate-limiting steps are found to occur during two proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) sequences and are associated with the transfer of a proton from a proton transfer mediator to a carbon atom on the electro-organocatalyst. The difficulty of this step in the second PCET sequence necessitates an electrode potential of −0.85 V vs RHE to achieve the maximum turnover frequency. In addition, it is postulated that the electro-organocatalyst should also be capable of forming long-chain aldehydes by successively carrying out reductive aldol condensation to grow the alkyl chain one carbon at a time.

Enriched Regions Of 228Ra Along The U.S. Geotraces Pacific Meridional Transect (Gp15), Willard S. Moore, Matt Charette, Paul Henderson, Doug Hammond, Nathaniel Kemnitz, Emilie Leroy, Eun Young Kwon, Mikael Hult

Faculty Publications

The half‐life of 228Ra (5.7 years) aligns well with near‐surface and near‐bottom ocean mixing timescales. Because 228Ra is sourced from sediments, regions of enhanced activity represent water that has recently interacted with sediments on the continental margin or seabed. The GP15 meridional transect from Alaska to Tahiti along152°W encountered several regions in the upper ocean where 228Ra was enriched. These enrichments follow surface and subsurface ocean current patterns and pair with earlier measurements of 228Ra and transient radionuclides to reveal the origins of these enriched regions. An enriched region at Alaska margin stations 1–3 was sourced locally but did not …

Assessing Forage Research And Education Needs Of Organic Dairy Farms In The United States, Eric Hatungimana, Heather M. Darby, Kathy J. Soder, Sara E. Ziegler, Andre F. Brito, Lisa Kissing Kucek, Heathcliffe Riday, E Charles Brummer

Faculty Publications

The viability of organic dairy operations in the United States (US) relies on forage production. The objectives of this study were to (1) assess producer and farm information regarding current forage production practices and producer knowledge gaps and (2) identify forage research and educational needs of organic dairy producers across the US. A survey was distributed to 643 organic dairy producers across the US, with 165 respondents (26% response rate). A focus group consisting of extension professionals, university researchers and staff, consultants, dairy industry representatives and organic dairy producers was also consulted for forage research needs. Results showed that approximately …

Testing Hypotheses Of Invasion Pathways Of The Ladybird Harmonia Axyridis Into And Across South Africa, Amy Collop, John S. Terblanche, Susana Clusella-Trullas, Jeff R. Garnas, Pius Bradicich, Minette Karsten

Faculty Publications

Harmonia axyridis is an invasive beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), native to Asia, that has established on four continents beyond its native range and was first observed in South Africa in 2001. Using microsatellite data and a comprehensive geographic coverage of international (17 locations) and South African (14 locations) beetle samples, we inferred the source of colonists invading South Africa and the beetle’s movement within the country. Genetic structure analyses suggest that this species’ populations in South Africa are derived from admixture between beetles originating from eastern North America (which acted as a bridgehead population) and another population not directly sampled in …