Coverage of the Good and the Bad: The Genomes and Genomics of Pollinators and Pests

Organizer(s)

• BC

  Brad Coates

  Research Geneticist
  Corn Insects & Crop Genetics Research Unit- ARS
  USDA-ARS
  Ames, Iowa
• KP

  Katherine Parys

  Research Entomologist
  Pollinator Health in Southern Crop Ecosystems Research Unit
  USDA - ARS
  Stoneville, Mississippi

USDA ARS Ag100Pest (https://scinet.usda.gov/working-groups/ag100pest) and Beenome initiatives aim to sequence the top arthropod pests and bees of agricultural significance, respectively. This research supports 1) bee health and critical pollinator services and 2) control of damage caused by insect pests though sustainable methods while minimizing environmental impacts.

Presentations:

• 9:00 AM – 9:05 AM PT

  Introductory remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Brad S. Coates – USDA-ARS
• 9:05 AM – 9:20 AM PT

  Beenomes to bad bugs, a concerted effort to sequence, assemble and annotate genomes of pollinators and pests
  

  Presenting Author: Anna K. Childers – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Jay Evans – USDA-ARS
• 9:20 AM – 9:40 AM PT

  Unraveling fall armyworm genetic structure in North America using a whole genome sequencing approach
  

  Presenting Author: Ashley Tessnow – Texas A&M University

  Co-author: Rodney Nagoshi – USDA-ARS

  Co-Author: Robert L. Meagher, Jr. (he/him/his) – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Todd M. Gilligan – USDA-APHIS

  Co-author: Benjamin Sadd – Illinois State University

  Co-author: Gregory Sword – Texas A&M University
• 9:40 AM – 9:55 AM PT

  Comparative genomics sheds light on the evolutionary consequences of pollen specialization in the sensory genes of bees
  

  Presenting Author: Avehi Singh (she/her/hers) – Pennsylvania State University

  Co-Author: Nathaniel Pope – Pennsylvania State University

  Co-author: Margarita M. Lopez-Uribe (she/her/hers) – Pennsylvania State University
• 9:55 AM – 10:10 AM PT

  Chromosome level assembly of a Bacillus thuringiensis resistant strain of the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea
  

  Presenting Author: Brad S. Coates – USDA-ARS

  Co-Author: Amanda Stahlke – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Jennifer Chang – Iowa state University

  Co-author: Luke R. Tembrock – Colorado State University

  Co-author: Sheina Biason Sim – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Scott M. Geib – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Omaththage Perera – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Todd M. Gilligan – USDA-APHIS

  Co-Author: Kevin Hackett – USDA-ARS

  Co-Author: Anna K. Childers – USDA-ARS
• 10:10 AM – 10:20 AM PT

  Break
• 10:20 AM – 10:40 AM PT

  Influence of ploidy, sex and metabolic activity on the quality of de novo genome assemblies – a test using eastern carpenter bees
  

  Presenting Author: Miriam Richards – Brock University

  Co-author: Haimeng Tang – Brock University

  Co-author: Ping Liang – Brock University

  Co-author: Adonis Skandalis – Brock University
• 10:40 AM – 10:55 AM PT

  Transcriptional landscape of early diapause in field-collected Colorado potato beetles
  

  Presenting Author: Alex S. Torson – USDA-ARS

  Co-Author: Kirsten Warcup – North Dakota State University

  Co-author: Dacotah melicher – North Dakota State University

  Co-Author: George D. Yocum – USDA-ARS

  Co-Author: Joseph P. Rinehart – USDA-ARS
• 10:55 AM – 11:10 AM PT

  Chromosome length genome assembly of the redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood)
  

  Presenting Author: Omaththage Perera – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Surya Saha – Boyce Thompson Institute

  Co-author: K. Clint Allen – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Lukas Mueller – Boyce Thompson Institute

  Co-Author: Gadi V. Reddy – USDA-ARS
• 11:10 AM – 11:25 AM PT

  Chromosome-level genome of Bombus impatiens facilitates identification and comparative evolution of genes differentially expressed in heavy metal exposure
  

  Presenting Author: Katherine Geist – Iowa State University

  Co-author: Rick Masonbrink – Iowa State University

  Co-author: Emeline Favreau (she/her/hers) – University College London

  Co-author: Ryan Fortune – Iowa State University

  Co-author: Mary Margaret Gardiner – The Ohio State University

  Co-author: Sarah B. Scott – The Ohio State University

  Co-author: Seirian Sumner – University College London

  Co-author: Sandra M. Rehan – York University

  Co-author: Amy Toth – Iowa State University