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Grad Student Wins Graduate and Professional Student Government Fall Travel Award

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Phillip Shults holding his certificate
Phillip Shults. Photo by Rob Williams

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Phillip Shults on receiving the Graduate and Professional Student Government’s Fall Travel Award.

The award will allow Shults to travel to Puerto Rico to attend the Society for Vector Ecology’s annual meeting. Shults will be giving a presentation titled “Taxonomic uncertainty in the C. variipennis complex part II: population genomic structure of C. sonorensis throughout North America” during the meeting.

Shults will also be coordinating a symposium titled Unveiling the Ecology of North American Culicoides Vectors where he will have experts speaking on different members of the genus Culicoides, which are commonly known as biting midges. The topics range from pathogen transmission to molecular ecology to novel vector control strategies.

“I’m thrilled to have received this award,” he said. “I’ve been a part of multiple awards committees and that experience was incredibly helpful when filling out the travel award application.”

Texas A&M entomology student chosen as fellow for National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Scientist Training Program

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Pohlenz cultures cells in the lab for titering virus. (Photo by graduate student Sarah O’Leary.)
Tyler Pohlenz cultures cells in the lab for titering virus. (Photo by graduate student Sarah O’Leary.)

COLLEGE STATION — Tyler Pohlenz, a Texas A&M University doctoral student, has been selected as a fellow for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Scientist Training Program, or APHIS-NSTP, starting the 2019 fall semester.

Pohlenz’s doctorate concentrates on arboviruses, such as Zika, and other important pathogens.

“With the move of the USDA’s Animal Disease Center from Plum Island, New York, to Kansas, USDA needs to staff the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, NBAF,” said Kevin Myles, Ph.D., professor of entomology and Pohlenz’s major advisor. “The fellowship looks for young people who are studying for their master’s or doctorate in the areas of interest to the type of work that will be going on in the facility.”

The APHIS-NBAF Scientist Training Program was created to identify highly qualified candidates to fill key roles in the new facility.

“One major aspect of this is that USDA will connect me with someone who is currently working at the facility, and they will act as a mentor,” Pohlenz said. “We will have biannual meetings where they will connect me with other scientists in the field and high containment laboratories. So it will give me a chance to network with people in the field as well as research funds to help me continue my Ph.D. research.”

According to APHIS and the fellowship parameters, fellows will receive full tuition and supplementary support to complete their degree program in target laboratory-based fields of study including microbiology, virology, molecular biology, diagnostics, bioinformatics, etc. Fellows are also required to maintain a 3.25 GPA.

Myles said Pohlenz’s research is focused on arboviruses, such as Zika and other important pathogens, and how they are transmitted by mosquitoes. His research is focused on those viruses and how they are transmitted and spread during periods of epidemic activity.

“There are some pathogens that are very important as far as the livestock industry, and these pathogens can be very devastating to livestock if you have an epidemic,” Myles said. “But because of that, it is important that we study these types of pathogens in order to come up with therapeutic treatments, etc. to help protect our livestock industry.”

Fellows will be required to fulfill a tiered service commitment following completion of the program, based on the number of years of funding received.

“I will be spending at least five years in the foreign animal disease diagnostic lab, but after that, I plan to stick around the government sector,” Pohlenz said.

“He has proven to be one of the top graduate students that I have had during my 13 years of running the laboratory,” Myles said. “He is just very passionate about the questions he’s investigating. He has good hands and is very skilled in the laboratory and is very intelligent. He has been an excellent graduate student.”

Texas A&M Entomology Faculty Visit with South Korean Officials on Future Fire Ant Control

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Young-tae Kim, Director of the Plant Pest Control Division with the Korean Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA), left, with Dr. Ed Vargo, Professor and Chair in Urban and Structural Entomology
Young-tae Kim, Director of the Plant Pest Control Division with the Korean Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA), left, with Dr. Ed Vargo, Professor and Chair in Urban and Structural Entomology. Photo by the APQA

Two faculty members from the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M recently traveled to South Korea to help South Korean officials with a recent invasion of fire ants.

The group consisted of Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio, Professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow, and Dr. Ed Vargo, Professor and Endowed Chair in Urban and Structural Entomology, who met with officials from South Korea.

The follow-up meeting this year stemmed from a request made in 2018 when researchers from the Korean Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) requested help in finding ant experts to collaborate with to help control the invasive ants.

Entomologists from South Korea traveled to College Station in September 2018 to connect with and learn from experts in the areas of insect ecology, systematics, physiology, and genomics, as well as integrated pest management, of fire ants after they were reported in the port city of Busan in the southern part of South Korea.

Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio speaking to the group about fire ants. Photo by APQA.

During the meeting in South Korea in April 2019, Pietrantonio and Vargo discussed with the South Koreans the history of fire ant interceptions the country has faced and the role the Quarantine Service has done in their efforts to intercept them. They also listened to the South Korean’s efforts to test new insecticides and fumigants and for plans to create a genetic database for identifying the source of ants for future interceptions.

The group also toured the site at Incheon Port near Seoul where the first discovery was found. Vargo said the representatives from the APQA were very professional and he was very impressed with their handling of the situation.

“I was impressed with the knowledge and professionalism of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) personnel in South Korea,” Vargo said. “They (APQA) are responsible for preventing the introduction of unwanted plants, animals, and plant diseases. They have recently intercepted several shipments containing the red imported fire ant. However, given the volume of cargo that come into South Korean ports, it will be a difficult task to find all containers that may have fire ants. They certainly have their work cut out for them.”

Dr. Ed Vargo speaking to the group. Photo by APQA
Dr. Ed Vargo speaking to the group. Photo by APQA

Pietrantonio was also impressed with APQA’s decision to seek help in controlling the ants by asking Texas A&M entomologists for their guidance – a invasive ant we have worked on for decades.

“The administrators and researchers in the Animal and Plant Quarantine were extremely appreciative and welcoming and they were genuinely concerned about the possible survival of the red imported fire ants throughout the winter, especially in the ports and other coastal areas where the soil temperature may have allowed their survival at a certain depth,” she said. “They are further concerned about not knowing currently the country or region of origin of the fire ants they have found, because their preliminary genetic analyses was not conclusive or matched fire ant populations that have been characterized elsewhere.”

The outcome of the meeting resulted in the group signing a memorandum of understanding for future research collaborations if needed.

“If the red imported fire ant continues to be found in South Korea, it is very likely that contacts will be reinitiated, especially to genetically compare Korean fire ant specimens with those across the USA and to determine the physiological changes that may allow fire ants to survive in South Korea,” Pietrantonio said.

Dr. Frank Gilstrap Named Honorary Member of Entomological Society of America

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Dr. Frank Gilstrap

Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Dr. Frank Gilstrap upon being named a 2019 Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America (ESA).

Dr. Gilstrap is recognized for extraordinary contributions to the ESA through his career while he was with the Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

His research included biological control of insects and mites damaging small grains, field crops, and fruit.  Dr. Gilstrap earned the B.A. Degree (1968) in biology from Fresno State College and the Master of Science Degree  and Doctor of Philosophy Degree  in Entomology from the University California-Riverside in 1971 and 1974, respectively.

During his career, Dr. Gilstrap conducted entomological research in the United States, Africa, and Central America; generated $4.25 million in funding; graduated 14 M.S. and 14 Ph.D. students; and published 237 articles and reports (83 peer refereed, 31 in ESA journals).

As an AgriLife Research Associate Director from 1996-2003, Dr. Gilstrap managed intellectual property, $5 million in appropriated funds, and Texas commodity relationships. As the director of the Dallas Urban Center, he created and implemented a business-based management model for the Center and established more than 60 partnerships that grew annual Center revenue from $250,000 from 2000 to 2005 to $2.1 million in 2011.

Dr. Gilstrap has been a continuous member of the Entomological Society of America since 1972.  He served as President (2006), as member of the ESA Governing Board (2000-2007), as member of the Entomological Foundation Board of Counselors (1997-2011), and as member of the editorial board for the Journal of Economic Entomology (1983-87; Chair in 1987).  Dr. Gilstrap was named Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in 2011.

Additional highlights of his service to the discipline include 1989 President of the International Organization for Biological Control/Nearctic Regional Section (1979-1989) and project leader for the International Sorghum-Millet Collaborative Research Support Program, US Agency for International Development (1979-1995).

Dr. Gilstrap retired in 2010 and named  Professor Emeritus  by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents in 2011, and was honored by the Department of Entomology in January 2019 with the Department’s Lifetime Achievement Recognition.

West Nile case numbers lowest since 2012

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by Adam Russell, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications

Aedes mosquitoes, a known vector of West Nile virus, and other diseases, are small dark mosquitoes with distinct white bands on the legs. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Aedes mosquitoes, a known vector of West Nile virus, and other diseases, are small dark mosquitoes with distinct white bands on the legs. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

DALLAS COUNTY – Cases of West Nile virus in Texas have been the lowest in years, and researchers may know why, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. 

Dr. Mike Merchant,  AgriLife Extension entomologist, Dallas, said a publication by health officials in Dallas County may shed light on factors that contribute to outbreaks and help forecast outbreaks in the future.

There has been one case of West Nile in humans this year in Fort Worth, but Merchant said vector indexes used to measure the conditions under which the disease is spread are the lowest they’ve been in five years.

Mosquito numbers this year are normal to high, Merchant said, but the presence of the disease has remained low. A report by the Dallas County epidemiologist showed West Nile virus outbreaks correlate with weather conditions, and this season was not conducive to its production and spread.

Prime conditions

Culex mosquitoes are the primary vectors for West Nile virus. Their preferred breeding grounds include standing water that seldom dries, the edges of ponds, lakes and smaller impoundments. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Culex mosquitoes are the primary vectors for West Nile virus. Their preferred breeding grounds include standing water that seldom dries, the edges of ponds, lakes and smaller impoundments. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

On the other hand, Merchant said conditions in 2012 were prime for spreading West Nile virus.

In 2012, nearly 400 cases of West Nile virus were reported in Dallas County alone, and 19 people died of the disease. The epidemic was so bad county officials resorted to spraying the entire county.

The paper, written by Dallas County epidemiologist Dr. Wendy Chung, and colleagues in 2013, explains the lower number of West Nile cases this summer, said Merchant.

Chung and colleagues charted the 2012 outbreak and found high infection rates of mosquitoes early in the summer, followed by a rapid increase in human cases.

Looking back over previous years and case numbers, Merchant said the researchers concluded that an unusually mild winter followed by rainfall patterns ideal for mosquito breeding in the spring followed by a very hot summer created ideal conditions for an outbreak.

“Mosquitoes breed faster when it’s hot, but also the virus multiplies faster at higher temperatures,” he said. “So, we had conditions for the worst year then. This year the heat didn’t really set in until the last month or so.”

Take precautions despite low case numbers

This graphic shows what items in the yard may trap water and provide mosquitoes with a breeding site. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension service graphic)
This graphic shows what items in the yard may trap water and provide mosquitoes with a breeding site. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension service graphic)

Dr. Sonja Swiger, AgriLife Extension entomologist, Stephenville, said the rest of the state has also experienced a lower number of West Nile cases this year.

Swiger reached out to the state medical entomologist and entomologists in Dallas and Harris counties and said the consensus is numbers are slow at this time but that may or may not predict the year.

Case numbers have been lower than each year prior, she said, but the virus can peak when conditions allow.

“If you look at the data from the years before 2012, one of the largest WNV outbreaks on record, the cases were minimal just the year prior,” she said. “Plus, a weather event could still occur at any time and change what is happening now. WNV season does not conclude until Nov. 1, and with two months left, we just cannot be positive of the future.”

Merchant said health officials in Dallas County have found West Nile-positive mosquitoes, but their numbers have been very low, especially when compared to 2012. While he doubts a major increase in transfers to humans will occur, people should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

“We still need to treat mosquitoes with respect and take proactive measures to avoid them, but we wanted to give some good West Nile news for a change,” he said.

For a comprehensive look at how to reduce mosquito populations around the home and protect against bites, go to AgriLife Extension’s Mosquito Safari.