I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with Drs. Margarita Lopez-Uribe and Anthony Vaudo to examine the feasibility of adapting RRL sequencing approaches to the study the historical population genomics of archived entomological museum specimens.  This collaborative project was ultimately developed into a publication that can be found here.  Congrats Margarita and Anthony!

Congratulations to Fritz Lab undergraduate researcher, Lyra Morina.  Lyra has been with the Fritz Lab since the beginning, and was awarded an Ernst Cory scholarship from the UMD Department of Entomology for her outstanding service in our Department.  She has succeeded where many undergraduates would not - working the 7am mosquito rearing shift multiple times per week, including weekends (gasp!).  Well deserved, Lyra.

PI Fritz, along with her co-PIs Nunziata, Hamby, and Dively were recently awarded an MAES grant to study Bt resistance in H. zea.  Helicoverpa zea is a pest of corn and cotton, and recent studies have show that it is evolving resistance to Bt-expressing transgenic crops.  This seed grant will allow our research groups to identify the diagnostic dose of Bt toxins which are lethal to susceptible laboratory strains, but allow for survivorship of field-collected populations.  Results from this award will help to establish assays that can be used to link the genes involved in resistance to resistance phenotypes.