Molecular Phylogenetics of the Superfamily Curculionoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera)

This thesis examines higher-level evolutionary history within the superfamily Curculionoidea, the most speciose family-level taxon, which includes beetles commonly known as weevils. This is achieved using a phylogenetic approach incorporating the largest datamatrix yet employed for weevil molecular systematics, and includes an investigation into the prospect of obtaining short phylogenetically informative amplicons from archival museum specimens. Newly obtained DNA sequence data is analysed from a variety of mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including 92 mitogenomes assembled through the approach of next-generation sequencing of pooled genomic DNA. The resulting trees are used to test previous morphological- and molecular-based hypotheses of weevil relationships and classification schemes. Mitogenomic-derived trees reveal topologies that are highly congruent with previous molecular studies, but that conflict with some morphological hypotheses. Strong nodal support strengthens inferences into the relationships amongst most weevil families and suggests that the largest family, the Curculionidae, is monophyletic, if the subfamily Platypodinae is excluded. Division of the Curculionidae into two large clades is well supported and the wood-boring habit adopted by three subfamilies is shown to have arisen multiple times, contradicting most morphological analyses. Addition of several nuclear loci to the mitogenomic data is found to provide little additional value, in terms of improving nodal bootstrap support. A suggestion is made that future efforts to enhance understanding of relationships should focus on improving taxon sampling. Statistical tests of an augmented dataset, derived from public database sequences for single mitochondrial genes, wherein multiple tribes and subfamilies within the broad-nosed weevils are constrained as monophyletic, indicate that three entimine tribes, as currently defined, are each not consistent with the hypothesis for their monophyly. Incongruences between molecular data and classical morphological taxonomy are suggestive that the current weevil classification system is misleading if used to interpret species richness, geographic distributions or ecological traits within currently recognised lineages

Bulk de novo mitogenome assembly from pooled total DNA elucidates the phylogeny of weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)

Complete mitochondrial genomes have been shown to be reliable markers for phylogeny reconstruction among diverse animal groups. However, the relative difficulty and high cost associated with obtaining de novo full mitogenomes have frequently led to conspicuously low taxon sampling in ensuing studies. Here, we report the successful use of an economical and accessible method for assembling complete or near-complete mitogenomes through shot-gun next-generation sequencing of a single library made from pooled total DNA extracts of numerous target species. To avoid the use of separate indexed libraries for each specimen, and an associated increase in cost, we incorporate standard polymerase chain reaction-based “bait” sequences to identify the assembled mitogenomes. The method was applied to study the higher level phylogenetic relationships in the weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea), producing 92 newly assembled mitogenomes obtained in a single Illumina MiSeq run. The analysis supported a separate origin of wood-boring behavior by the subfamilies Scolytinae, Platypodinae, and Cossoninae. This finding contradicts morphological hypotheses proposing a close relationship between the first two of these but is congruent with previous molecular studies, reinforcing the utility of mitogenomes in phylogeny reconstruction. Our methodology provides a technically simple procedure for generating densely sampled trees from whole mitogenomes and is widely applicable to groups of animals for which bait sequences are the only required prior genome knowledge

The brightest high-latitude 12-micron IRAS sources

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Point Source catalog was searched for sources brighter than 28 Jy (0 mag) at 12 μm with absolute galactic latitude greater than 30° excluding the Large Magellanic Cloud. The search resulted in 269 sources, two of which are the galaxies NGC 1068 and M82. The remaining 267 sources are identified with, or have infrared color indices consistent with late-type stars some of which show evidence of circumstellar dust shells. Seven sources are previously uncataloged stars. K and M stars without circumstellar dust shells, M stars with circumstellar dust shells, and carbon stars occupy well-defined regions of infrared color-color diagrams

Interplay between superconductivity and magnetism in K-doped EuFe2As2

Superconductivity is found in 50% K-doped EuFe2As2 sample below 33 K. Our results of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and 57Fe and 151Eu Mossbauer spectroscopy provide clear evidence that the ordering of the Fe moments observed at 190 K in undoped EuFe2As2 is completely suppressed in our 50% K doped sample, thus there is no coexistence between the Fe magnetic order and the superconducting state. However, short range ordering of the Eu moments is coexisting with the superconducting state below 15 K. A bump in the susceptibility well below Tc as well as a slight broadening of the Fe Mossbauer line below 15 K evidence an interplay between the Eu magnetism and the superconducting state.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Evidence for Dirac nodes from quantum oscillations in SrFe2As2

We present a detailed study of quantum oscillations in the antiferromagnetically ordered pnictide compound SrFe2As2 as the angle between the applied magnetic field and crystalline axes is varied. Our measurements were performed on high-quality single crystals in a superconducting magnet, and in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T, allowing us to observe orbits from several small Fermi-surface pockets. We extract the cyclotron effective mass m☆ and frequency F for these orbits and track their values as the field is rotated away from the c axis. While a constant ratio of m☆/F is expected for a parabolic band, we observe deviations from this behavior. We conclude that this observation points to orbits derived from a band with Dirac dispersion near the Fermi level

Pressure effects on the electron-doped high Tc superconductor BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As(2)

Application of pressures or electron-doping through Co substitution into Fe sites transforms the itinerant antiferromagnet BaFe(2)As(2) into a superconductor with the Tc exceeding 20K. We carried out systematic transport measurements of BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As(2) superconductors in pressures up to 2.5GPa, and elucidate the interplay between the effects of electron-doping and pressures. For the underdoped sample with nominal composition x = 0.08, application of pressure strongly suppresses a magnetic instability while enhancing Tc by nearly a factor of two from 11K to 21K. In contrast, the optimally doped x=0.20 sample shows very little enhancement of Tc=22K under applied pressure. Our results strongly suggest that the proximity to a magnetic instability is the key to the mechanism of superconductivity in iron-pnictides.Comment: 5 figure

Obscured Activity: AGN, Quasars, Starbursts and ULIGs observed by the Infrared Space Observatory

Some of the most active galaxies in the Universe are obscured by large quantities of dust and emit a substantial fraction of their bolometric luminosity in the infrared. Observations of these infrared luminous galaxies with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) have provided a relatively unabsorbed view to the sources fuelling this active emission. The improved sensitivity, spatial resolution and spectroscopic capability of ISO over its predecessor Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), has enabled significant advances in the understanding of the infrared properties of active galaxies. ISO surveyed a wide range of active galaxies which, in the context of this review, includes those powered by intense bursts of star-formation as well as those containing a dominant active galactic nucleus (AGN). Mid infrared imaging resolved for the first time the dust enshrouded nuclei in many nearby galaxies, while a new era in infrared spectroscopy was opened by probing a wealth of atomic, ionic and molecular lines as well as broad band features in the mid and far infrared. This was particularly useful since it resulted in the understanding of the power production, excitation and fuelling mechanisms in the nuclei of active galaxies including the intriguing but so far elusive ultraluminous infrared galaxies. Detailed studies of various classes of AGN and quasars greatly improved our understanding of the unification scenario. Far-infrared imaging and photometry also revealed the presence of a new very cold dust component in galaxies and furthered our knowledge of the far-infrared properties of faint starbursts, ULIGs and quasars. We summarise almost nine years of key results based upon ISO data spanning the full range of luminosity and type of active galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in 'ISO science legacy - a compact review of ISO major achievements', Space Science Reviews - dedicated ISO issue. To be published by Springer in 2005. 62 pages (low resolution figures version). Higher resolution PDFs available from http://users.physics.uoc.gr/~vassilis/papers/VermaA.pdf or http://www.iso.vilspa.esa.es/science/SSR/Verma.pd