John Morse and his wife, Suzanne, established the endowment in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences eight years ago. Now more than $1 million, the endowment includes the Morses' annual contributions of $25,000 that have been matched 4-to-1 by the W.C. English Foundation, established in 1966 by Suzanne's father. The entomology faculty have chosen to name the position the John C. and Suzanne E. Morse Endowed Chair in Arthropod Biodiversity.

The endowment should be fully funded at $1.25 million in two years. It will be used to recruit a leading scholar to teach, conduct research, inform land managers and decision-makers and discover and manage economically detrimental effects of arthropod species, as well as beneficial products and services they can provide.

"I've taught at Clemson for over 33 years," said Morse, who recently retired but will continue to teach and work with graduate students. "There is truly something special here, and I am grateful for the privilege to work with world-class faculty and talented students every day. It's a thrill to come through those stone gates each morning. I wanted to give something back to the place that has given me so much."

Professor Al Wheeler, a department colleague, was so inspired by Morse's gift that he also has created a major endowment for students in the department.

The fund created by Wheeler will provide support for group expeditions by entomology graduate students to investigate ecologically interesting or unusual natural communities or habitats. The expeditions will promote enthusiasm for insect fieldwork; camaraderie among faculty, staff and students; exchange of knowledge and ideas; and long-lasting professional relationships. ]]> Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:25:57 EST http://www.grad.clemson.edu/news/recentNews.php?tag=Student fellowship http://www.grad.clemson.edu/news/recentNews.php?tag=Student fellowship

Wuchereria bancrofti (Cobbold) (Nematoda: Filariidae) is one of the mosquito-transmitted parasites which cause lymphatic filariasis, in particular, Bancroftian filariasis. Filariases are tropical diseases of the lymphatic system which, if left untreated, can result in elephantiasis or the thickening of the skin and underlying tissues. Worldwide, filariases have permanently disabled 40 million people and W. bancrofti-infected individuals number more than 120 million (WHO 2001).

The paper follows the development and subsequent disappearance of this disease in the Charleston, SC area. Most aspects of W. bancrofti in Charleston, such as the timing of appearance, mode of introduction, and prevalence of infection, remain speculative and contribute to its diminution in Charleston history. The study of filariasis in Charleston has produced a valuable model of the conditions needed for the invasion and establishment of an exotic, arthropod-borne disease, a useful tool for preventing future incursions in South Carolina and throughout the rest of the world. Though the suffering caused by filariasis is virtually forgotten, so are the determined doctors that heroically attempted to treat and understand the disease. Charleston doctors and their work on filariasis, especially Peter de Saussure, JJ Edwards, and Juan Guiteras, deserve a prominent place in the history of American tropical medicine.

For more information on Mark Nelder see his web page at: http://entweb.clemson.edu/biomia/mpn.html

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in entomology, visit http://www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Entomology/index.php.

Clemson genetics and biochemistry researcher Jeff Tomkins and graduate student Monica Munoz-Torres are part of the national research team. Their research on insects and tiny worms, called nematodes, focuses on lateral gene transfer in which foreign genes are transferred into the DNA of a host.

Their discovery is reported in the Aug. 30 edition of Science Express, which provides electronic publication of selected research papers that have recently been accepted for publication in the journal Science.

The scientists discovered chains of genes from the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis in insects and nematodes. While there still are many research questions about Wolbachia to be answered, Tomkins speculates that the microbe's ability to potentially alter traits and reproduction of its hosts may one day help control plant and animal pests and encourage beneficial ones.

"Lateral gene transfer is a phenomenon that occurs in nature in which foreign genes, usually from a microbe, are transferred into the DNA of a plant, animal or another microbe," Tomkins said. "The occurrence of this happening in animals is considered to be very rare.

"We confirmed the unique occurrence of lateral gene transfer in four insect and four nematode species. Potential Wolbachia to host transfers were also detected computationally in three additional sequenced insect genomes," said Munoz-Torres.

"Wolbachia lives in the reproductive tract of the host to which the genes have been transferred," Tomkins said. "Interestingly, many of the genes that have been transferred are completely functional in the DNA of their new host. It is postulated that this may be a newly discovered method of how higher-level organisms can develop new traits by receiving new genes from various microbial species."

Wolbachia infects as many as 20 percent of all insect species, but research so far has found that the bacteria are temperature-sensitive and will not live in warm-blooded animals. By treating infected insects with antibiotics to remove Wolbachia from its host, researchers also learned that once the DNA is transferred, it becomes a permanent part of the host's genome.

For more information on Clemson's graduate programs in genetics and biochemistry, visit www.clemson.edu/genbiochem/gradprograms.html.

For more information on Clemson's graduate programs in Entomology, visit http://entweb.clemson.edu/studentp/degrees/index.htm.

"We are thrilled to honor these individuals, our future colleagues and the next generation of research talent in the professional pest management industry," said Michael Newhouse, contest director and GIC market manager at Bayer ES. "Part of the Backed By Bayer promise is a commitment to advancing our field by dedicating resources to the academic community in support of these researchers."

Eric presented his research during PestWorld 2006, in Grapevine, Texas, on Saturday October 28. He was recognized at the opening session of the five-day convention in front of thousands of pest management professionals from across the country for his outstanding graduate work.

"Initially I was both surprised and honored. Now I am grateful to Bayer Environmental Science for providing such a huge opportunity to graduate students," Eric said in response to his award. "This award has directly led to a job that I have accepted and will be starting as soon as I graduate."

Eric coordinates most of the Urban Entomology Lab's field research projects on ants and termites. In the last few years, he has become a true expert on ant identification and biology. With his in-depth knowledge, Eric has been invited as a guest lecturer and seminar speaker in Clemson entomology classes, workshops for pest management professionals and scientific conferences across the US.

The Bayer Environmental Science "Young Scientist of the Year" contest is a scholarship and grant program for graduate students to acknowledge and financially support exceptional research that advances the pest management industry. For more information about the scholarship, visit www.bayerprocentral.com/pest/programs/youngscientist.

For more information about Clemson University's graduate program in entomology, visit http://entweb.clemson.edu/studentp/degrees/index.htm.