Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Phylogenomics and Evolution of Ground Beetles, with an Emphasis on the Speciose Tribes Chlaeniini and Bembidiini (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/73666c01g

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  • In this dissertation, I investigate the evolution and genomes of carabid beetles, a worldwide family of over 38,000 species. I focus on two species-rich groups, the tribes Chlaeniini and Bembidiini, both of which are primarily found on the shores of bodies of water. The former are distinctive for their defensive secretions, which appear to have been a key factor in their evolutionary success, while the latter are more speciose, smaller beetles. I use a variety of phylogenetic techniques and DNA sequencing to infer the evolutionary history and characterize the genomes of these two groups. My reconstructed phylogeny and new defensive chemical data show that the common ancestor of Chlaeniini most likely produced phenol. My new transcriptome data have clarified the deep relationships within Bembidiini, including the existence of two large subgroups, the Bembidion and Ocydromus superseries. Focusing on Chlaeniini and Bembidiini, I tested the accuracy of k-mer and coverage based genome size estimation methods on both freshly preserved and pinned museum specimens. I found that coverage based methods generally outperformed k-mer methods. In the process, I generated new genome size estimates for 15 species of carabids. These projects are a small but important contribution towards the better understanding of carabid evolution, and will help speed further research into Chlaeniini and Bembidiini.
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  • National Science Foundation Grant DEB-1702062
  • Harold E. and Leona M. Rice Endowment Fund at Oregon State University
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  • Pending Publication
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  • 2020-04-15 to 2021-05-16

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