Identifier

119

Date

2018

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Major

Biology

Committee Chair

Duane McKenna

Abstract

The emerald ash borer beetle (Agrilus planipennis) is an invasive species whose wood-boring larvae inflict severe feeding damage on the subcortical tissues of their host trees (predominantly ash; genus: Fraxinus). Studies of the A. planipennis genome, part of the i5k project, revealed the presence of two gene families, GH43 and GH44, known to be present in bacterial and fungal genomes, but not previously reported from beetles (order Coleoptera). These genes are believed to be associated with the beetle's ability to break down the B-glycosidic linkages in cellulose, thereby potentially facilitating its' specialized wood-boring habits. To confirm the presence of these genes in the A. planipennis genome (and help rule out the possibility of microbial contamination in the A. planipennis genome assembly), we designed PCR primers to amplify and sequence the known coding regions of the GH 43 and GH44 genes, plus non-coding flanking regions. Both GH43 and GH44 genes, including ~100 bp of flanking sequence, were amplified and sequenced from genomic DNA extracted from the legs of adult male and adult female A. planipennis via PCR, thus confirming the presence of these gene families in the A. planipennis genome.

Comments

Undergraduate Honor's Thesis

Library Comment

Honors thesis originally submitted to the Local University of Memphis Honor’s Thesis Repository.

Notes

Data is provided by the student.

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