Biology subjects

Buffington, M. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Buffington, M. L..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Genomics and reproductive biology of Leptopilina malgretoutensis Buffington, Lue, Davis & Tracey sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Figitidae): An asexual parasitoid of Caribbean Drosophila

Drosophila and parasitic wasps in the genus Leptopilina have long been a model for understanding host-parasite interactions. Indeed, parasitic wasps are important drivers of ecological and evolutionary processes broadly, but we are generally lacking information about the diversity, natural history, and evolution of these relationships. We collected insects from the Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia, home to the eastern Caribbean dunni subgroup of Drosophila: a clade long appreciated for its recent patterns of speciation and adaptation. Here we present an integrative approach that incorporates natural history, taxonomy, physiology, and genomics to describe Leptopilina n. sp. Buffington, Lue, Davis & Tracey sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), a virulent parasitoid of dunni group flies, especially Drosophila antillea. Leptopilina n. sp. is nested within an early-branching clade of Leptopilina, offering insights into the evolution of this important genus of Drosophila parasitoids. We present a high-quality assembly for this wasps 1Gbp genome, and for its bacterial endosymbiont: Wolbachia strain "wLmal". Furthermore, we show that wLmal induces parthenogenesis in the wasp, and that these wasps are reliant upon their Wolbachia infections to produce female offspring. Finally, comparison to historical museum specimens indicate that Leptopilina n. sp. had been collected approximately 40 years prior from the nearby island of Guadeloupe and were also asexually reproducing. This work represents one of only a handful of studies in which field biology, taxonomy, systematics, genomics, and experimental biology are integrated into a species description: showcasing the possibilities for biodiversity research in the genomic era.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2021

DROP: Molecular voucher database for identification of Drosophila parasitoids

Molecular identification is increasingly used to speed up biodiversity surveys and laboratory experiments. However, many groups of organisms cannot be reliably identified using standard databases such as GenBank or BOLD due to lack of sequenced voucher specimens identified by experts. Sometimes a large number of sequences are available, but with too many errors to allow identification. Here we address this problem for parasitoids of Drosophila by introducing a curated open-access molecular reference database, DROP (Drosophila parasitoids). Identifying Drosophila parasitoids is challenging and poses a major impediment to realize the full potential of this model system in studies ranging from molecular mechanisms to food webs, and in biological control of Drosophila suzukii. In DROP (http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4519656), genetic data are linked to voucher specimens and, where possible, the voucher specimens are identified by taxonomists and vetted through direct comparison with primary type material. To initiate DROP, we curated 154 laboratory strains, 856 vouchers, 554 DNA sequences, 16 genomes, 14 transcriptomes, and 6 proteomes drawn from a total of 183 operational taxonomic units (OTUs): 114 described Drosophila parasitoid species and 69 provisional species. We found species richness of Drosophila parasitoids to be heavily underestimated and provide an updated taxonomic catalogue for the community. DROP offers accurate molecular identification and improves cross-referencing between individual studies that we hope will catalyze research on this diverse and fascinating model system. Our effort should also serve as an example for researchers facing similar molecular identification problems in other groups of organisms.

genomics↗