Heather Hines

Associate Professor of Biology and Entomology

Heather Hines

Research Summary

Applies genomic, transcriptomic, phylogenomic, and bioinformatic approaches to study the evolution and genetics of diverse traits in bees and wasps. This includes study of mimetic color diversification, plant gall induction, novel morphologies, speciation, and social evolution.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

Color Genes Bombus Bees Butterflies Genomics Ecology Genome Phenotype Pollinating Insects Hymenoptera Gene Phylogeny Genetic Variation Gene Flow Insecta Bee Ecosystem Gene Regulatory Networks Pigmentation Pollen Species Complex Lipids Ancestry Viruses

Most Recent Publications

Expanding insect pollinators in the Anthropocene

Guillaume Ghisbain, Maxence Gérard, Thomas J. Wood, Heather M. Hines, Denis Michez, 2021, Biological Reviews on p. 2755-2770

The Presence of Ancient Core Genes Reveals Endogenization from Diverse Viral Ancestors in Parasitoid Wasps

Gaelen R. Burke, Heather M. Hines, Barbara J. Sharanowski, 2021, Genome Biology and Evolution

Developmental Transcriptomics Reveals a Gene Network Driving Mimetic Color Variation in a Bumble Bee

Sarthok Rasique Rahman, Tatiana Terranova, Li Tian, Heather M. Hines, 2021, Genome Biology and Evolution

A combined RAD-Seq and WGS approach reveals the genomic basis of yellow color variation in bumble bee Bombus terrestris

Sarthok Rasique Rahman, Jonathan Cnaani, Lisa N. Kinch, Nick V. Grishin, Heather M. Hines, 2021, Scientific Reports on p. 7996

What kinds of landscapes keep bees healthy?

Darin McNeil, Heather Hines, C Grozinger, 2021, Environmental Science Journal for Teens on p. 1-4

iBLAST

Sajal Dash, Sarthok Rasique Rahman, Heather M. Hines, Wu Chun Feng, 2021, PLoS One

Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Patrick Lhomme, S Williams, Guillaume Ghisbain, Baptiste Martinet, G\'erard, Maxence, Heather Hines, 2021, Insect Systematics and Diversity on p. 5

Bumble bees in landscapes with abundant floral resources have lower pathogen loads

Darin J. McNeil, Elyse McCormick, Ashley C. Heimann, Melanie Kammerer, Margaret R. Douglas, Sarah C. Goslee, Christina M. Grozinger, Heather M. Hines, 2020, Scientific Reports

Substantial genetic divergence and lack of recent gene flow support cryptic speciation in a colour polymorphic bumble bee (Bombus bifarius) species complex

Guillaume Ghisbain, Jeffrey D. Lozier, Sarthok Rasique Rahman, Briana D. Ezray, Li Tian, Jonah M. Ulmer, Sam D. Heraghty, James P. Strange, Pierre Rasmont, Heather M. Hines, 2020, Systematic Entomology on p. 635-652

Pollen protein

Anthony D. Vaudo, John F. Tooker, Harland M. Patch, David J. Biddinger, Michael Coccia, Makaylee K. Crone, Mark Fiely, Jacob S. Francis, Heather M. Hines, Mackenzie Hodges, Stephanie W. Jackson, Denis Michez, Junpeng Mu, Laura Russo, Maliheh Safari, Erin D. Treanore, Maryse Vanderplanck, Eric Yip, Anne S. Leonard, Christina M. Grozinger, 2020, Insects

Most-Cited Papers

Butterfly genome reveals promiscuous exchange of mimicry adaptations among species

Kanchon K. Dasmahapatra, James R. Walters, Adriana D. Briscoe, John W. Davey, Annabel Whibley, Nicola J. Nadeau, Aleksey V. Zimin, Camilo Salazar, Laura C. Ferguson, Simon H. Martin, James J. Lewis, Sebastian Adler, Seung Joon Ahn, Dean A. Baker, Simon W. Baxter, Nicola L. Chamberlain, Chauhan Ritika, Brian A. Counterman, Tamas Dalmay, Lawrence E. Gilbert, Karl Gordon, David G. Heckel, Heather M. Hines, Katharina J. Hoff, Peter W.H. Holland, Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly, Francis M. Jiggins, Robert T. Jones, Durrell D. Kapan, Paul Kersey, Gerardo Lamas, Daniel Lawson, Daniel Mapleson, Luana S. Maroja, Arnaud Martin, Simon Moxon, William J. Palmer, Riccardo Papa, Alexie Papanicolaou, Yann ick Pauchet, David A. Ray, Neil Rosser, Steven L. Salzberg, Megan A. Supple, Alison Surridge, Ayse Tenger-Trolander, Heiko Vogel, Paul A. Wilkinson, Derek Wilson, James A. Yorke, 2012, Nature on p. 94-98

Finding Our Way through Phenotypes

Andrew R. Deans, Suzanna E. Lewis, Eva Huala, Salvatore S. Anzaldo, Michael Ashburner, James P. Balhoff, David C. Blackburn, Judith A. Blake, J. Gordon Burleigh, Bruno Chanet, Laurel D. Cooper, Mélanie Courtot, Sándor Csösz, Hong Cui, Wasila Dahdul, Sandip Das, T. Alexander Dececchi, Agnes Dettai, Rui Diogo, Robert E. Druzinsky, Michel Dumontier, Nico M. Franz, Frank Friedrich, George V. Gkoutos, Melissa Haendel, Luke J. Harmon, Terry F. Hayamizu, Yongqun He, Heather M. Hines, Nizar Ibrahim, Laura M. Jackson, Pankaj Jaiswal, Christina James-Zorn, Sebastian Köhler, Guillaume Lecointre, Hilmar Lapp, Carolyn J. Lawrence, Nicolas Le Novère, John G. Lundberg, James Macklin, Austin R. Mast, Peter E. Midford, István Mikó, Christopher J. Mungall, Anika Oellrich, David Osumi-Sutherland, Helen Parkinson, Martín J. Ramírez, Stefan Richter, Peter N. Robinson, Alan Ruttenberg, Katja S. Schulz, Erik Segerdell, Katja C. Seltmann, Michael J. Sharkey, Aaron D. Smith, Barry Smith, Chelsea D. Specht, R. Burke Squires, Robert W. Thacker, Anne Thessen, Jose Fernandez-Triana, Mauno Vihinen, Peter D. Vize, Lars Vogt, Christine E. Wall, Ramona L. Walls, Monte Westerfeld, Robert A. Wharton, Christian S. Wirkner, James B. Woolley, Matthew J. Yoder, Aaron M. Zorn, Paula Mabee, 2015, PLoS Biology on p. e1002033

The gene cortex controls mimicry and crypsis in butterflies and moths

Nicola J. Nadeau, Carolina Pardo-Diaz, Annabel Whibley, Megan A. Supple, Suzanne V. Saenko, Richard W.R. Wallbank, Grace C. Wu, Luana Maroja, Laura Ferguson, Joseph J. Hanly, Heather Hines, Camilo Salazar, Richard M. Merrill, Andrea J. Dowling, Richard H. Ffrench-Constant, Violaine Llaurens, Mathieu Joron, W. Owen McMillan, Chris D. Jiggins, 2016, Nature on p. 106-110

Complex modular architecture around a simple toolkit of wing pattern genes

Steven M. Van Belleghem, Pasi Rastas, Alexie Papanicolaou, Simon H. Martin, Carlos F. Arias, Megan A. Supple, Joseph J. Hanly, James Mallet, James J. Lewis, Heather M. Hines, Mayte Ruiz, Camilo Salazar, Mauricio Linares, Gilson R.P. Moreira, Chris D. Jiggins, Brian A. Counterman, W. Owen McMillan, Riccardo Papa, 2017, Nature Ecology and Evolution

Pollen protein

Anthony D. Vaudo, John F. Tooker, Harland M. Patch, David J. Biddinger, Michael Coccia, Makaylee K. Crone, Mark Fiely, Jacob S. Francis, Heather M. Hines, Mackenzie Hodges, Stephanie W. Jackson, Denis Michez, Junpeng Mu, Laura Russo, Maliheh Safari, Erin D. Treanore, Maryse Vanderplanck, Eric Yip, Anne S. Leonard, Christina M. Grozinger, 2020, Insects

Genomic architecture of adaptive color pattern divergence and convergence in Heliconius butterflies

Megan A. Supple, Heather M. Hines, Kanchon K. Dasmahapatra, James J. Lewis, Dahlia M. Nielsen, Christine Lavoie, David A. Ray, Camilo Salazar, W. Owen McMillan, Brian A. Counterman, 2013, Genome Research on p. 1248-1257

Geographical patterns of genetic divergence in the widespread Mesoamerican bumble bee Bombus ephippiatus (Hymenoptera

Michelle A. Duennes, Jeffrey D. Lozier, Heather M. Hines, Sydney A. Cameron, 2012, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution on p. 219-231

Mimetic colour pattern evolution in the highly polymorphic Bombus trifasciatus (Hymenoptera

Heather M. Hines, Paul H. Williams, 2012, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society on p. 805-826

Transcriptome analysis reveals novel patterning and pigmentation genes underlying Heliconius butterfly wing pattern variation

Heather M. Hines, Riccardo Papa, Mayte Ruiz, Alexie Papanicolaou, Charles Wang, H. F. Nijhout, W. O. McMillan, Robert D. Reed, 2012, BMC Genomics on p. 288

Ecology and evolution of cuckoo bumble bees

Patrick Lhomme, Heather M. Hines, 2019, Annals of the Entomological Society of America on p. 122-140

News Articles Featuring Heather Hines

Oct 21, 2021

Scientists uncover the genetic pathway that colors bumble bee stripes

While most people in the U.S. may think of bumble bees as the standard yellow and black variety, there are an estimated 260 bee species that sport about 400 different color patterns. One reason many people associate bumble bees with distinct colors is because evolution can influence multiple bee species to share similar color patterns in specific geographic regions, which scientists call mimicry.

Full Article

Feb 11, 2020

Climate Change Has Driven Serious Declines in World’s Bumblebees

The number of habitats in North America that bumblebees occupy has fallen by almost 50 percent

Full Article

Feb 06, 2020

Bumblebees Are Going Extinct In A Time of Climate Chaos

Loss of the vital pollinators, due in part to temperature extremes and fluctuations, could have dire consequences for ecosystems and agriculture.

Full Article

May 01, 2019

How The Bumble Bee Got Its Stripes

Researchers have discovered a gene that drives color differences within a species of bumble bees. This discovery helps to explain the highly diverse color patterns among bumble bee species as well as how mimicry — individuals in an area adopting similar color patterns — evolves.

Full Article

May 01, 2019

Researchers Identify ‘Color Switch’ Gene in Black-Tailed Bumblebees

Penn State researcher Heather Hines and colleagues investigated the genetic basis of color in the black-tailed bumblebee, which exhibits two regional color patterns.

Full Article