Kathirithamby, Jeyaraney - University of Oxford

研究领域

Strepsiptera are bizarre parasites that display unique adaptations in response to long and diverse coevolution with their hosts and parasitize 7 orders and 34 families of Insecta. The sexes exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism with free-living males and totally endoparasitic females (except in one family). After extensive taxonomic and morphological studies of this unusual entomophagous parasitoid, I am now engaged in using them as model organisms in the study of evolutionary relationships between parasites and their hosts. In collaboration with laboratories and museums throughout the world, we are beginning to understand the complex interactions that characterize this complex host-parasite relationship. The dimorphic hosts parasitized by the family Myrmecolacidae has been of particular interest: the males parasitize ants and the females parasitize orthopterans and mantids. By molecular characterization we have, unequivocally matched female myrmecolacids to their conspecific males. As a part of this study identical males from different sites have been found to be genetically different, suggesting cryptic speciation. Given that Strepsiptera found over a wide geographical range can be morphologically similar, cryptic species might be wide spread in this group of parasitoids. We are presently studying other families of Strepsiptera to unravel cryptic species, their host associations and sexual selection.

近期论文

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J. Kathirithamby, M. Hrabar, J. A. Delagdo, F. Collantes, S. Dötteri, D. Windsor & G. Gries.We do not select nor are we choosy: reproductive biology of Strepsiptera (Insecta). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 116: 221-238. J. Kathirithamby. Strepsiptera. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=114989 J. Kathirithamby & M. S. Engel. A revised key to the living and fossil families of Strepsipte with the description of a new family Cretostylopidae. Journal of the Kansas EntomologicalSociety 87: 385-388. B. Boussau, Z. Walton, J. A. Delgado, F. Collantes, L. Beani, I. J. Stewart, SA. Cameron, J. B. Whitfield, J. S. Johnston, P. W. H. Holland, D. Bachtrog, J. Kathirithamby, J. P. Huelsenbeck. 2014. Strepsiptera, phylogenomics and the long branch attraction problem. PLoS One 9(10): 2/0107709. J. A. Delgado, R. R. Askew, F. Collantes & J. Kathirithamby. 2014. Superparasitism of Eoxenos laboulbenei De Payerimhoff (Strepsiptera: Mengenillidae) Idiomacrmerus gregarius (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) in southern Spain. Journal of Natural History14:1347-1357. .