This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research and training at the University of Florida (UF) to revise the taxonomy and document the interactions of pinhole borer beetles and their symbiotic fungi. The $900,006 award will fund a comprehensive 4-year effort to identify, classify, and describe these understudied wood-boring organisms, which can become pests. The project will use DNA sequencing, microscopy, and other modern techniques to generate new data on pinhole borers and their fungi, while also training the next generation of entomologists and mycologists. Key project outputs will include an e-monograph, taxonomic publications, photographs, and an AI-based identification tool. The research aims to address a biosecurity gap by improving understanding of these potentially problematic species, while also broadly disseminating information about wood-dwelling organisms through outreach efforts.
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