Laboratory for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics

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Laboratory for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics

Jason R. Cryan, Ph.D.

Director, Laboratory for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics

New York State Museum

CEC 3140

Albany, NY 12230, USA

Phone 518-486-2008, FAX 518.486.2034

jcryan@mail.nysed.gov

Current Appointment and Academic History

Senior Scientist, New York State Museum: 2001-present
Post-Doc (Zoology): 1999-2001, Brigham Young University (Provo, UT)
Ph.D. (Entomology): 1999, North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
M.S. (Entomology): 1995, North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
B.A. (Zoology): 1992, The University of Vermont (Burlington, VT)

Additional Appointments

Adjunct Assistant Professor, University at Albany [SUNY]; Dept. of Biological Sciences
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Dept. of Entomology

Research

My research interests are focused on molecular evolutionary investigations of phytophagous (plant-feeding) insects in the related groups Fulgoroidea (with emphasis on the planthopper family Delphacidae), Cercopoidea (spittlebugs and froghoppers), and Membracoidea (especially the treehopper family Membracidae). I use DNA nucleotide sequences from nuclear and mitochondrial genes to infer phylogenetic trees (similar to genealogies), thereby hypothesizing evolutionary relationships among insect groups. These hypotheses are then used to critically evaluate alternative theories of the evolution of insect anatomy, behavior, and biogeographical distribution. Many of the insect species included in my research projects are of worldwide economic and agricultural importance, and so results of these projects may have broader implications for studies on the control of such insects.

Publications

(click on links for abstracts)

Cryan, J.R. In Press. Molecular Phylogeny of Cicadomorpha (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadoidea, Cercopoidea, and Membracoidea): Adding Evidence to the Controversy. Systematic Entomology.

Cryan, J.R., and C.R. Bartlett. 1994. New World treehoppers and the delphacid genus Pissonotus. Tymbal. Auchennorhyncha Newsletter 20: 13-15.

Cryan, J.R., and C.R. Bartlett. 2002. A redescription of the Caribbean treehopper genus Antillotolania Ramos (Hemiptera: Membracidae), with two new species. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 95(3): 302-308.

Cryan, J.R., C.R. Bartlett, and M.F. Whiting. In preparation. Toward a phylogeny of Delphacidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea): Emerging molecular and morphological evidence.

Cryan, J.R., and L.L. Deitz. 1995. Revision of the Neotropical treehopper genus Smerdalea Fowler (Homoptera: Membracidae) with two new species. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 88(1): 5-11.

Cryan, J.R., and L.L. Deitz. 1999a. Review of the New World treehopper tribe Stegaspidini (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Stegaspidinae): I: Bocydium Latreille, Lirania Stål, and Smerdalea Fowler. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 101(3): 469-489.

Cryan, J.R., and L.L. Deitz. 1999b. Review of the New World treehopper tribe Stegaspidini (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Stegaspidinae): II: Lycoderes Germar, Oeda Amyot and Serville, and Stegaspis Germar. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 101(4): 760-778.

Cryan, J.R., and L.L. Deitz. 2000. Review of the New World treehopper tribe Stegaspidini (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Stegaspidinae): III: Flexocentrus Goding, Stylocentrus Stål, and Umbelligerus Deitz. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 102(1): 82-98.

Cryan, J.R., and L.L. Deitz. 2002. Enigmatic Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae): Deiroderes Ramos, Holdgatiella Evans, and Togotolania, New Genus. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 104(4): 867-882.

Cryan, J.R., J.K. Liebherr, J.W. Fetzner, Jr., and M.F. Whiting. 2001. Evaluation of relationships within the endemic Hawaiian Platynini (Coleoptera: Carabidae) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21(1): 72-85.

Cryan, J.R., J.A. Robertson, and L.L. Deitz. 2003. The New World Treehopper Tribe Microcentrini (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Stegaspidinae): Monographic Revision and Phylogenetic Position. Thomas Say Publications (Monographs of the Entomological Society of America).

Cryan, J.R., B.M. Wiegmann, L.L. Deitz, and C.H. Dietrich. 2000. Phylogeny of the treehoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Membracidae): Evidence from two nuclear genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 17(2): 317-334.

Cryan, J.R., B.M. Wiegmann, L.L. Deitz, C.H. Dietrich, and M.F. Whiting. 2004. Treehopper trees: Phylogeny of Membracidae (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Membracoidea) based on molecules and morphology. Systematic Entomology 29: 441-454.

Huber, B.S., D.V. Allred, J.C. Carmen, D.D. Frame, D.G. Whiting, J.R. Cryan, T.R. Olson, P.J. Jackson, K. Hill, M.T. Laker, and R.A. Robison. 2002. Random amplified polymorphic DNA and amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis of clinical Pasteurella multocida isolates from fatal fowl cholera infections. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 40(6): 2163-2168.

Stunženas, V., J.R. Cryan, and D.P. Molloy. 2004. Comparison of rDNA sequences from colchicine treated and untreated sporocysts of Phyllodistomum folium and Bucephalus polymorphus (Digenea). Parasitology International 53(3): 223-228.

Wilson, T.G., and J.R. Cryan. 1996. High genetic variability in Drosophila melanogaster for susceptibility to lufenuron, a chitin synthesis inhibitor insecticide. In "Molecular Genetics and Evolution of Pesticide Resistance," (T.M. Brown, Ed.), American Chemical Society Symposium Series #645: 141-148 (Chapter 15).

Wilson, T.G., and J.R. Cryan. 1997. Lufenuron, a chitin-synthesis inhibitor, interrupts development of Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Experimental Zoology 278: 37-44.