UC Davis Researchers Well-Represented at ICE2024 in Kyoto, Japan

UC Davis scientists established a major presence at the 27th International Congress of Entomology (ICE2024), a weeklong conference in Kyoto, Japan that drew more than 4000 researchers from 82 countries. 

ICE2024, themed “New Discoveries Through Consilience,” included plenary lectures, symposia and posters, with science shared, science learned and friendships made.  ICE meets every four years in a different country.

Walter Leal, a UC Davis distinguished professor of biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and a former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT), chaired the ICE Council for International Congresses of Entomology, which decides the next venue (it's set for July 17-21, 2028 in Capetown, Africa).

And as the chair, Leal delivered the welcoming remarks, declaring the congress open.  He also presented three seminars--his own, and two others for colleagues unable to attend.  In addition, Leal served as an entomology ambassador and video journalist, sharing news on social media and keeping conference attendees and the outside world up-to-date and informed.

Four UC Davis ENT researchers made the 5,358-mile trip to Japan, and UC Davis alumna Jill Oberski traveled there from Germany where she is a postdoctoral researcher at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute in Frankfurt. The researchers:

• Molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of ENT
• Pollination ecologist and professor Neal Williams of ENT
• Doctoral student Iris Quayle of the laboratory of Jason Bond, who triples as the ENT Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair; director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology; and associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
• Doctoral candidate Nicole Rodrigues of the laboratory of medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, associate professor, ENT
• Doctoral alumna Jill Oberski, formerly of the laboratory of ant specialist Phil Ward, professor

Leal, a native of Brazil who speaks Portuguese, Japanese and English, is no stranger to ICE or to Japan. He and Alvin Simmons, a research entomologist with USDA-ARS, Charleston, S.C., co-chaired ICE2016, held in Orlando, Fla. It drew a record 6600 delegates from 101 countries. 

Before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2000,  Leal studied and worked in Japan. He received his master’s degree in agricultural chemistry from Mie University and his doctorate in applied biochemistry from the University of Tsukuba,  and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in entomology (1991) at the National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science. He then served six years as the head of the Laboratory of Chemical Prospecting, becoming the first foreigner to be granted tenure there.

Research Presentation. At ICE2024, Leal delivered his research presentation on “The Circa-bi-dian Clock of the Large Black Chafer (Holotrichia parallela) Manifests in the Beetle’s Sex Pheromone Reception,” at a chemical ecology symposium, co-chaired by three former Leal lab members:  Zainulabeuddin Syed,  now at the University of Kentucky; Wei Xu, Murdoch University, Australia; and Yuko Ishida, Research Institute of Luminous Organisms,  Hachijojima.

Entomology Ambassador. As an entomology ambassador at ICE2024, Leal encouraged students and early-career entomologists. As a journalist he shared news of the event, filming some 50 videos, many of which he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Wigglesworth Memorial Award Lecture. When Leal learned that colleague May Berenbaum, professor and head of Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, would be unable to attend to present her Wigglesworth Memorial Award Lecture, he subbed in, delivering a lecture on  “Insect Chemical Communication: Research Notes from Tsukuba and Davis.” Coincidentally, Leal's colleagues had nominated him for the   Wigglesworth Award, and Berenbaum had provided a letter of support. 

Third Presentation. When Leal learned that his collaborator,  Haroldo Xavier Linhares Volpe of the Department of Research and Development, Fund for Citrus Protection (Fundecitrus), Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil, had to cancel at the last minute,   he stepped forward and presented the seminar, "Effect of the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus Infection on the Asian Citrus Psyllid Response to a Putative Sex Pheromone."

Joanna Chui. Professor Chiu delivered a lecture on "The Role of the Circadian Clock in Regulating  Insect Seasonal Biology." The abstract:  "Seasonal adaptations in physiology and behavior are critical for organismal survival. Photoperiod is the dominant cue that regulates seasonal biology. It is the most reliable environmental cue as a measure of seasonal time. Temperature also plays a synergistic role in modulating and maintaining seasonal programs in biology. Despite the ubiquitous nature of seasonal rhythms, our understanding of the mechanisms by which animals sense and integrate environmental cues to regulate seasonal biology is far from complete. Previously in Abrieux et al. (PNAS 2020), we reported that EYES ABSENT (EYA) protein can sense photoperiod and temperature to regulate seasonal biology in Drosophila. In Hidalgo et al. (Current Biology 2023), we investigated the role of the circadian clock in mediating the sensing of temperature and photoperiod by EYA. There is a long-standing hypothesis that the circadian clock informs calendar timingby measuring photoperiod length, but the mechanisms underlying the link between these two biological timing systems are unclear. Our published work now point to a model in which signaling by the circadian neuropeptide Pigment Dispersing Factor (PDF) negatively modulates EYA levels to regulate seasonal physiology, linking the circadian clock to the modulation of seasonal adaptations."

Neal Williams. Professor Williams presented his seminar on “Linking Pollen Use by Foraging Bees to Map Locations of Exposure and Develop Reduced Risk Management across Landscapes for the symposium “Pesticide Exposure and Effects for Insect Pollinators.” Co-authors: Clara Stuligross and Elina Niño, UC Davis ENT; Charlie Nicholson, formerly UC Davis ENT and now Emory University, Atlanta; Eric Lonsdorf, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden; and Maj Rundlöf, Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University. Niño, an apiculturist, is an associate professor of Cooperative Extension and founder and director of the California Master Beekeeper Program. 

Iris Quayle. Doctoral student Iris Quayle of the Bond lab delivered a poster presentation (under her research name of Iris Bright) on “A Complete Phylogeny for the Charismatic Genus, Onymacris (Coleoptera: Tenebrioniae) Using Ultraconserved Elements” in the category “Systematics, Phylogeny, and Morphology.” Co-authors: Professor Jason Bond, Emma Jochim and James Starrett, all of the Bond lab, and Bond lab research associate Fran Keller, a Folsom Lake College professor and a UC Davis ENT lecturer.

Nicole Rodrigues. Doctoral candidate Nicole Rodrigues of the Geoffrey Attardo lab presented a poster in the "Young Scientists" competitive category titled "Effects of Biochar-Infused Water on Oviposition Behavior and Larval Development in Aedes aegypti."   Co-authors: Associate professor Geoffrey Attardo and Jennifer Price.

Jill Oberski. UC Davis doctoral alumna Jill Oberski  presented a  seminar in the "Young Scientists" competitive category on "Neotropical Paleoclimate, Andean Orogeny, and the Isthmus of Panama: UCEs Illuminate the Evolution of the 'Pyramid Ants' (Formicidae: Dorymyrmex)." She received two awards: Presentation Award for Young Scientists (PAYS) and the Presentation Award for Women Scientists (PAWS).  

Her abstract:  "Ants of the genus Dorymyrmex Mayr 1866, the 'pyramid ants' or 'cone ants,' are abundant in dry landscapes throughout the Americas and form an ideal system for studies of Western Hemisphere biogeography. In contrast to traditional latitudinal diversity theory, the distribution of Dorymyrmex forms an amphitropical gradient concentrated in the deserts and grasslands north and south of the tropics—an intriguing pattern also seen in other taxa such as desert plants and ground-nesting bees. Additionally, in Dorymyrmex, this distribution is asymmetrical; all four major lineages occur south of Amazonia, but only one has undergone a northward radiation. Remarkably, this clade (the D. pyramicus species group) now spans from Paraguay to New York, including Central America and most Caribbean islands. To evaluate when and how Dorymyrmex acquired its present-day distribution, I built a dataset of 167 specimens representing 64 species and then performed targeted genomic sequencing of ultraconserved elements (UCEs), inferred phylogenies under maximum likelihood and Bayesian frameworks, estimated lineage divergence dates using MCMCtree, and performed an ancestral range reconstruction in BioGeoBEARS. These analyses reveal that the amphitropical distribution of Dorymyrmex appears to have been largely started by a single dispersal event from South to North America—despite the barrier of the humid Amazon rainforest, and apparently via the Isthmus of Panama, yet millions of years before the Great American Biotic Interchange. Here, I discuss the timing and path of this journey and how the Caribbean islands have factored into Dorymyrmex dispersal. Lastly, I examine the characteristics of Dorymyrmex that have likely contributed to its success in colonizing new habitats, and draw comparisons to the historical biogeography of other Hymenopterans. Reconstructing the evolutionary history of Dorymyrmex is an important step towards understanding this abundant but understudied pan-American ant genus."

'Most Welcome Field of All Endeavors'

In Leal's opening address, he declared that entomology "is the most welcome field of all endeavors."

"Your Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino, Distinguished Guests, Presidents of Entomological Societies, and Entomologists from All Corners of the Planet," he began. "Welcome to The Resilient and Consilient International Congress of Entomology. (Kyoto he Youkoso, in Japanese)

"One hundred fourteen years and 24 days have passed since our first International Congress of Entomology (ICE), which was held in Brussels in Belgium. The 16th Congress in Kyoto in 1980 was the first to be held in Asia and it has taken 44 years and 19 days to return to Kyoto. ICE is young compared to the city of Kyoto – one of the oldest municipalities in Japan. Like Kyoto, we keep our traditions, but also, like Kyoto, we keep pace with an ever-modernizing world.

"Indeed, the science of entomology has exploded in scope and depth over the past 114 years. This week, you will be presenting or hearing about research and new developments in all frontiers of entomology, some of which may have been considered inconceivable at our last congress, held in Helsinki, let alone the first International Congress in Belgium.

"As you may know, entomology is the most welcome field of all scientific endeavors. We proudly welcome amateur and professional entomologists, field entomologists and those carrying out fundamental research (which may not be applicable within a foreseeable future), early career scholars and world-renowned entomologists, and—of course—students—be they graduate, undergraduate, high school, or elementary school students. Throughout its lifetime the International Congresses of entomology have been exercising diversity and inclusion, something we are all very proud of.

"Entomology welcomed me as a chemical ecologist/biochemist working on insect science. Entomology made me a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of some of the most prestigious entomological societies, a Gakkaisho recipient, and even President of the Council of the International Congresses of Entomology. If you practice entomology, you are an entomologist, and be proud of that label – because we are the most all-inclusive profession.

"I sincerely hope that by the end of this week, you’ll conclude that this was the best congress you have ever attended. Let the science begin!"