Online chalcid character definition and coding using mx    

(J. Heraty, J. Liljeblad, et al.) 

Aimed at resolving the phylogeny for the superfamily Chalcidoidea. The study is based on adult external morphology with additions from life-history and behavior. Currently more than 400 characters are being managed. Through mx (PDF manual link) we aim to keep all characters and codings in one place, building one large password protected matrix for anyone to analyze and ultimately expand upon. Any user can make their own customized characters, character lists and matrices. Data will eventually be linked to complementary sequence data for export as combined data matrices.

•  Introduction to Adobe Connect Conferencing Software and MX (J. Heraty and R. Burks; 8 minutes)

•  Working Guide to the Use of MX for coding Chalcidoidea (R. Burks; Heraty and Woolley lab meeting; 45 minutes)

           [please excuse the rough nature of these above presentations - we are just beginning

            to videoconference and we are not movie stars!]

Secondary Structural Model of the 28S rRNA D2 & D3 Regions for Chalcidoide:  (J. Munro)

An interesting side project arose from the collection of molecular data for my research on the Azotinae. Alignment of nuclear DNA is typically approached in either one of two ways, or a combination of both; by-eye-alignment or the use of an alignment program.  The use of predicted secondary structure for aligning rDNA is now coming into vogue.  In a collaborative effort with members of the Heraty and Pinto labs (UCR) and Joe Gillespie and Matt Yoder (Texas A&M), we have completed a secondary structural model for 28S D2 and D3 for Chalcidoidea.

Matt Yoder and Joe Gillespie have an exceptional web page - jRNA.  I advise anyone who is interested in secondary structural alignment to visit it.  Their Glossary is well worth reading if you are new to this topic.

•   Secondary structure in practice (Munro presentation at lab meeting)

Fox (Forkhead) Gene Phylogeny:  (J. Munro)

A  collaborative effort between the Heraty and Raikhel labs (UCR) resulted in :

Hansen, I.A., D.H. Sieglaff, J.B. Munro, S.-H. Shiao, J. Cruz, I.W. Lee, J. Heraty, and A.S. Raikhel. 2007. Forkhead transcription factors regulate mosquito reproduction. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 37: 985-997.  

Herein, we note the paralogous nature of the Fox gene and question its utility in phylogenetic analyses. We are currently expanding our taxon sampling with an interest in evaluating the paralogy and utility of the gene across Insecta.