Sarah E. Lower
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View article: Illuminating patterns of firefly abundance using citizen science data and machine learning models
Illuminating patterns of firefly abundance using citizen science data and machine learning models Open
As insect populations decline in many regions, conservation biologists are increasingly tasked with identifying factors that threaten insect species and developing effective strategies for their conservation. One insect group of global con…
View article: Supplementary Material: Robustness of Divergence Time Estimation Despite Gene Tree Error: A Case Study of Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
Supplementary Material: Robustness of Divergence Time Estimation Despite Gene Tree Error: A Case Study of Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Open
Supplementary Material for the manuscript "Robustness of Divergence Time Estimation Despite Gene Tree Error: A Case Study of Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)".
View article: Identification of a Female-Produced Sex Attractant Pheromone of the Winter Firefly, Photinus corruscus Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
Identification of a Female-Produced Sex Attractant Pheromone of the Winter Firefly, Photinus corruscus Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Open
Firefly flashes are well-known visual signals used by these insects to find, identify, and choose mates. However, many firefly species have lost the ability to produce light as adults. These “unlighted” species generally lack developed adu…
View article: Identification of a Female-produced Sex Attractant Pheromone of the Winter Firefly,<i>Photinus corrusca</i>
Identification of a Female-produced Sex Attractant Pheromone of the Winter Firefly,<i>Photinus corrusca</i> Open
Firefly flashes are well-known visual signals used by these insects to find, identify, and choose mates. However, many firefly species have lost the ability to produce light as adults. These “unlighted” species generally lack developed adu…
View article: Inferring the demographic history of the North American firefly <i>Photinus pyralis</i>
Inferring the demographic history of the North American firefly <i>Photinus pyralis</i> Open
The firefly Photinus pyralis inhabits a wide range of latitudinal and ecological niches, with populations living from temperate to tropical habitats. Despite its broad distribution, its demographic history is unknown. In this study, we mod…
View article: A Time-calibrated Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Phylogeny: Using Genomic Data for Divergence Time Estimation
A Time-calibrated Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Phylogeny: Using Genomic Data for Divergence Time Estimation Open
Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) consist of over 2,000 described extant species. A well-resolved phylogeny of fireflies is important for the study of their population genetics, bioluminescence, evolution, and conservation. We used a rece…
View article: Toxicity of clothianidin to common Eastern North American fireflies
Toxicity of clothianidin to common Eastern North American fireflies Open
Background Previous research suggests that fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) are susceptible to commonly used insecticides. In the United States, there has been a rapid and widespread adoption of neonicotinoid insecticides, predominantly …
View article: Molecular Evolution of Phototransduction Pathway Genes in Nocturnal and Diurnal Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
Molecular Evolution of Phototransduction Pathway Genes in Nocturnal and Diurnal Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Open
Most organisms are dependent on sensory cues from their environment for survival and reproduction. Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) represent an ideal system for studying sensory niche adaptation due to many species relying on biolumines…
View article: Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Gene Families Associated with Predatory Behavior in Photuris femme fatale Fireflies
Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Gene Families Associated with Predatory Behavior in Photuris femme fatale Fireflies Open
Identifying the basis of phenotypic variation is a key objective of genetics. This work has been mostly limited to model systems with a plethora of genetic manipulation and functional characterization tools. With the development of high-th…
View article: On the inference of a southern origin of the North American firefly<i>Photinus pyralis</i>
On the inference of a southern origin of the North American firefly<i>Photinus pyralis</i> Open
The firefly Photinus pyralis inhabits a wide range of latitudinal and ecological niches, with populations living from temperate to tropical habitats. Its ample geographic distribution makes this species an ideal system for the study of loc…
View article: Special Issue: Repetitive DNA Sequences
Special Issue: Repetitive DNA Sequences Open
Repetitive DNAs are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes and, in many species, comprise the bulk of the genome. Repeats include transposable elements that can self-mobilize and disperse around the genome and tandemly-repeated satellite DNAs th…
View article: Higher-Level Phylogeny and Reclassification of Lampyridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)
Higher-Level Phylogeny and Reclassification of Lampyridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) Open
Fireflies (Lampyridae Rafinesque) are a diverse family of beetles which exhibit an array of morphologies including varying antennal and photic organ features. Due in part to their morphological diversity, the classification within the Lamp…
View article: Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles
Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles Open
Fireflies and their luminous courtships have inspired centuries of scientific study. Today firefly luciferase is widely used in biotechnology, but the evolutionary origin of bioluminescence within beetles remains unclear. To shed light on …
View article: Molecular variation across populations of a widespread North American firefly, Photinus pyralis, reveals that coding changes do not underlie flash color variation or associated visual sensitivity
Molecular variation across populations of a widespread North American firefly, Photinus pyralis, reveals that coding changes do not underlie flash color variation or associated visual sensitivity Open
The absence of protein variation at both loci challenges the paradigm that variation in signal color and visual sensitivity in fireflies is exclusively due to coding variation in luciferase and opsin genes. Instead, flash color variation w…
View article: Author response: Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles
Author response: Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles Open
Article Figures and data Abstract eLife digest Introduction Results Discussion Materials and methods Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Appendix 6 Data availability References Decision letter Author response Article and…
View article: Rates and Patterns of Mutation in Tandem Repetitive DNA in Six Independent Lineages of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Rates and Patterns of Mutation in Tandem Repetitive DNA in Six Independent Lineages of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Open
The mutational patterns of large tandem arrays of short sequence repeats remain largely unknown, despite observations of their high levels of variation in sequence and genomic abundance within and between species. Many factors can influenc…
View article: The evolution of sexual signal modes and associated sensor morphology in fireflies (Lampyridae, Coleoptera)
The evolution of sexual signal modes and associated sensor morphology in fireflies (Lampyridae, Coleoptera) Open
Animals employ different sexual signal modes (e.g. visual, acoustic, chemical) in different environments and behavioural contexts. If sensory structures are costly, then evolutionary shifts in primary signal mode should be associated with …
View article: Variable Rates of Simple Satellite Gains across the Drosophila Phylogeny
Variable Rates of Simple Satellite Gains across the Drosophila Phylogeny Open
Simple satellites are tandemly repeating short DNA motifs that can span megabases in eukaryotic genomes. Because they can cause genomic instability through nonallelic homologous exchange, they are primarily found in the repressive heteroch…
View article: Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles
Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles Open
Fireflies and their fascinating luminous courtships have inspired centuries of scientific study. Today firefly luciferase is widely used in biotechnology, but the evolutionary origin of their bioluminescence remains unclear. To shed light …
View article: Supplementary material from "The evolution of sexual signal modes and associated sensor morphology in fireflies (Lampyridae, Coleoptera)"
Supplementary material from "The evolution of sexual signal modes and associated sensor morphology in fireflies (Lampyridae, Coleoptera)" Open
Animals employ different sexual signal modes (e.g. visual, acoustic, chemical) in different environments and behavioural contexts. If sensory structures are costly, then evolutionary shifts in primary signal mode should be associated with …