@article{baltzegar_gould_2023, title={Development of the first high-density linkage map in the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais}, volume={11}, ISSN={["2167-8359"]}, DOI={10.7717/peerj.15414}, abstractNote={The maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, is a worldwide pest that disproportionately affects subsistence farmers in developing countries. Damage from this pest threatens food security in these communities as widely available and effective control methods are lacking. With advances over the last decade in the development of genetic pest management techniques, addressing pest issues at the ecosystem level as opposed to the farm level may be a possibility. However, pest species selected for genetic management techniques require a well-characterized genome and few genomic tools have been developed for S. zeamais. Here, we have measured the genome size and developed the first genetic linkage map for this species. The genome size was determined using flow cytometry as 682 Mb and 674 Mb for females and males, respectively. The linkage map contains 11 linkage groups, which correspond to the 10 autosomes and 1 X-chromosome found in the species and it contains 1,121 SNPs. This linkage map will be useful for assembling a complete genome for S. zeamais.}, journal={PEERJ}, author={Baltzegar, Jennifer Fountain and Gould, Fred}, year={2023}, month={Jun} }
 @article{baltzegar_jones_willcox_ramsey_gould_2023, title={Population genetic structure of the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, in southern Mexico}, volume={18}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0264469}, abstractNote={The maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, is a ubiquitous pest of maize and other cereal crops worldwide and remains a threat to food security in subsistence communities. Few population genetic studies have been conducted on the maize weevil, but those that exist have shown that there is very little genetic differentiation between geographically dispersed populations and that it is likely the species has experienced a recent range expansion within the last few hundred years. While the previous studies found little genetic structure, they relied primarily on mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite markers for their analyses. It is possible that more fine-scaled population genetic structure exists due to local adaptation, the biological limits of natural species dispersal, and the isolated nature of subsistence farming communities. In contrast to previous studies, here, we utilized genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data to evaluate the genetic population structure of the maize weevil from the southern and coastal Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. We employed strict SNP filtering to manage large next generation sequencing lane effects and this study is the first to find fine-scale genetic population structure in the maize weevil. Here, we show that although there continues to be gene flow between populations of maize weevil, that fine-scale genetic structure exists. It is possible that this structure is shaped by local adaptation of the insects, the movement and trade of maize by humans in the region, geographic barriers to gene flow, or a combination of these factors.}, number={4}, journal={PLOS ONE}, author={Baltzegar, Jennifer and Jones, Michael S. and Willcox, Martha and Ramsey, Janine M. and Gould, Fred}, year={2023}, month={Apr} }
 @article{baltzegar_vella_gunning_vasquez_astete_stell_fisher_scott_lenhart_lloyd_et al._2021, title={Rapid evolution of knockdown resistance haplotypes in response to pyrethroid selection in Aedes aegypti}, volume={7}, ISSN={["1752-4571"]}, DOI={10.1111/eva.13269}, abstractNote={Abstract This study describes the evolution of knockdown resistance (kdr) haplotypes in Aedes aegypti in response to pyrethroid insecticide use over the course of 18 years in Iquitos, Peru. Based on the duration and intensiveness of sampling (~10,000 samples), this is the most thorough study of kdr population genetics in Ae . aegypti to date within a city. We provide evidence for the direct connection between programmatic citywide pyrethroid spraying and the increase in frequency of specific kdr haplotypes by identifying two evolutionary events in the population. The relatively high selection coefficients, even under infrequent insecticide pressure, emphasize how quickly Ae . aegypti populations can evolve. In our examination of the literature on mosquitoes and other insect pests, we could find no cases where a pest evolved so quickly to so few exposures to low or nonresidual insecticide applications. The observed rapid increase in frequency of resistance alleles might have been aided by the incomplete dominance of resistance‐conferring alleles over corresponding susceptibility alleles. In addition to dramatic temporal shifts, spatial suppression experiments reveal that genetic heterogeneity existed not only at the citywide scale, but also on a very fine scale within the city.}, journal={EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS}, author={Baltzegar, Jennifer and Vella, Michael and Gunning, Christian and Vasquez, Gissella and Astete, Helvio and Stell, Fred and Fisher, Michael and Scott, Thomas W. and Lenhart, Audrey and Lloyd, Alun L. and et al.}, year={2021}, month={Jul} }
 @article{baltzegar_barnes_elsensohn_gutzmann_jones_king_sudweeks_2018, title={Anticipating complexity in the deployment of gene drive insects in agriculture}, volume={5}, ISSN={["2329-9037"]}, DOI={10.1080/23299460.2017.1407910}, abstractNote={Insects cause substantial losses to agricultural crops each year and require intensive management approaches. Genetic pest management has emerged as a viable, non-chemical alternative for managing insect pests. The development of engineered gene drives for agricultural use is promising, though unproven, and has the potential to impact farmers as well as broader socio-ecological systems in several ways. Drawing on lessons from the deployment of other pest control technologies, this paper considers how insects containing gene drives could intersect with some of the complexities that characterize agricultural systems. Gene drives are being developed in a landscape of pest management shaped by past and current approaches, experiences, regulations, public opinion, and pest invasions. Because gene drive insects may spread well beyond their release area, stakeholder groups at different spatial scales need to be engaged in decisions about their deployment. This new paradigm both complicates and offers great promise for future pest management efforts.}, journal={JOURNAL OF RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION}, author={Baltzegar, Jennifer and Barnes, Jessica Cavin and Elsensohn, Johanna E. and Gutzmann, Nicole and Jones, Michael S. and King, Sheron and Sudweeks, Jayce}, year={2018}, pages={S81–S97} }
 @article{fritz_paa_baltzegar_gould_2016, title={Application of a dense genetic map for assessment of genomic responses to selection and inbreeding in Heliothis virescens}, volume={25}, ISSN={["1365-2583"]}, DOI={10.1111/imb.12234}, abstractNote={Adaptation of pest species to laboratory conditions and selection for resistance to toxins in the laboratory are expected to cause inbreeding and genetic bottlenecks that reduce genetic variation. Heliothis virescens, a major cotton pest, has been colonized in the laboratory many times, and a few laboratory colonies have been selected for Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistance. We developed 350-bp double-digest restriction-site associated DNA-sequencing (ddRAD-seq) molecular markers to examine and compare changes in genetic variation associated with laboratory adaptation, artificial selection and inbreeding in this nonmodel insect species. We found that allelic and nucleotide diversity declined dramatically in laboratory-reared H. virescens as compared with field-collected populations. The declines were primarily a result of the loss of low frequency alleles present in field-collected H. virescens. A further, albeit modest decline in genetic diversity was observed in a Bt-selected population. The greatest decline was seen in H. virescens that were sib-mated for 10 generations, in which more than 80% of loci were fixed for a single allele. To determine which regions of the genome were resistant to fixation in our sib-mated line, we generated a dense intraspecific linkage map containing three PCR-based and 659 ddRAD-seq markers. Markers that retained polymorphism were observed in small clusters spread over multiple linkage groups, but this clustering was not statistically significant. Overall, we have confirmed and extended the general expectations for reduced genetic diversity in laboratory colonies, provided tools for further genomic analyses and produced highly homozygous genomic DNA for future whole genome sequencing of H. virescens.}, number={4}, journal={INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY}, author={Fritz, M. L. and Paa, S. and Baltzegar, J. and Gould, F.}, year={2016}, month={Aug}, pages={385–400} }