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Publications

  1. Ronai, I.*, de Paula Baptista, R.*, Paulat, N.S., Frederick, J.C., Azagi, T., Bakker, J.W., Dillon, K.C., Sprong, H.*, Ray, D.A.* and Glenn, T.C.* (2026) The repetitive genome of the Ixodes ricinus tick reveals transposable elements have driven genome evolution in ticks. Genome Biology. 27; 41. DOI: 10.1186/13059-025-03909-8 [OA].

  2. Cardoso-Júnior, C., Tibério, G.J., Peruzzolo, M.C., Vieira, L.C., Lago, C.D., Paschoal, A.R., Ronai, I., Oldroyd, B.P. and Hartfelder, K. (2026) A sterility-associated long non-coding RNA involved in honey bee caste determination and adult queen and worker fertility. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 123(8): e2527882123. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2527882123 [PDF].

  3. Ronai, I.*, Frederick, J.C.*, Thompson, A.T., Sharma, P., Yabsley, M.J., Pal, P., Extavour, C.G. and Glenn, T.C. Duplex PCR assay to determine sex and mating status of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), vector of the Lyme disease pathogen. (2025) Journal of Medical Entomology. DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaf043 [OA].

  4. Robbins, R.G., Nava, S., Ronai, I., Chong, K.L., and Guglielmone, A.A. (2025) Type specimens of the world's hard tick species (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae): collection data and depositories for all valid names and the current status of invalid names. Zootaxa. 5606: 1-287. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5606.1.1 [PDF].

  5. Suárez, J., Stencel, A. and Ronai, I. (2025) Top-down coercive mechanisms and the Major Transitions in Evolution. BioEssays. 47(10): e70047. DOI: 10.1002/bies.70047 [OA].

  6. Frederick, J., Thompson, A., Sharma, P., Dharmarajan, G., Ronai, I., Pesapane, R., Smith, R., Sundstrom, K., Tsao, J., Tuten, H., Yabsley, M.J. and Glenn, T. (2023) Phylogeography of the blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis throughout the United States identifies candidate loci for differences in vectorial capacity. Molecular Ecology 32: 3133–3149. DOI: 10.1111/mec.16921 [OA].

  7. Ronai, I. (2023) How molecular techniques are developed from natural systems. Genetics 224: iyad067. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad067 [OA].

  8. Aamidor, S.E., Cardoso-Júnior, C., Harianto, J., Nowell, C.J., Cole, L., Oldroyd, B.P. and Ronai, I. (2022) Reproductive plasticity and oogenesis in the queen honey bee (Apis mellifera). Journal of Insect Physiology 136: 104347. DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104347 [PDF].

  9. Ronai, I. (2021) The impact of climate change on tick host-seeking behaviour. In: Nuttall, P. (ed.) Climate, Ticks and Disease, CAB International, chapter 09: 56–60. ePub: 9781789249651 [PDF].

  10. Oskam, C., Ronai, I. and Irwin, P. (2021) The emergence of tick-borne diseases in domestic animals in Australia. In: Nuttall, P. (ed.) Climate, Ticks and Disease, CAB International, chapter 61: 424–429. ePub: 9781789249651 [PDF].

  11. Cardoso-Júnior, C., Yagound, B., Ronai, I., Remnant, E., Hartfelder, K. and Oldroyd, B.P. (2021) DNA methylation is not a driver of gene expression reprogramming in young honey bee workers. Molecular Ecology 30: 4804–4818. DOI: 10.1111/mec.16098 [PDF].

  12. Cardoso-Júnior, C., Oldroyd, B.P. and Ronai, I. (2021) Vitellogenin expression in the ovaries of adult honeybee workers provides insights into the evolution of reproductive and social traits. Insect Molecular Biology 30: 277–286. DOI: 10.1111/imb.12694 [PDF].

  13. Ronai, I.* Tufts, D.M.*, and Diuk-Wasser, M. (2020) Aversion of the invasive Asian longhorned tick to the white-footed mouse, the dominant reservoir of tick-borne pathogens in the U.S.A.. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 34: 369–373. DOI: 10.1111/mve.12441 [PDF].

  14. Ronai, I.*, Greslehner, G.P.*, Boem, F.*, Carlisle, J.*, Stencel, A.*, Suárez, J.*, et al. (2020) “Microbiota, Symbiosis and Individuality Summer School” meeting report. Microbiome 8: 117. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00898-7 [OA].

  15. Garcia Bulle Bueno, F., Gloag, R., Latty, T. and Ronai, I. (2020) Irreversible sterility of workers and high-volume egg production by queens in the stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria. Journal of Experimental Biology 223: jeb230599. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.230599 [OA].

  16. Cardoso-Júnior, C., Ronai, I., Hartfelder, K. and Oldroyd, B. (2020) Queen pheromone modulates the expression of epigenetic modifier genes in the brain of honey bee workers. Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0440 [PDF].

  17. Ronai, I. and Griffiths, P.E. (2019) The case for basic research in the biological sciences. Trends in Molecular Medicine 25: 65–69. DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2018.12.003 [OA].

  18. Aamidor, S.E., Yagound, B., Ronai, I. and Oldroyd, B. (2018) Sex mosaics in the honeybee: how haplodiploidy makes possible the evolution of novel forms of reproduction in social Hymenoptera. Biology Letters 14: 20180670. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0670 [OA].

  19. Ronai, I., Allsopp, M.H., Tan, K., Dong, S., Liu, X., Vergoz, V. and Oldroyd, B.P. (2017) The dynamic association between ovariole loss and sterility in adult honeybee workers. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284: 20162693. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2693 [OA].

  20. Cole-Clarke, M.P., Barton, D.A., Allsopp, M.H., Beekman, M., Gloag, R.S., Wossler, T.C., Ronai, I., Smith, N., Reid, R.J. and Oldroyd, B.P. (2017) Cytogenetic basis of thelytoky in Apis mellifera capensis. Apidologie 1–12. DOI: 10.1007/s13592-017-0505-7 [OA].

  21. Ronai, I., Oldroyd, B.P. and Vergoz, V. (2016) Queen pheromone regulates programmed cell death in the honey bee worker ovary. Insect Molecular Biology 33: 134–142. DOI: 10.1111/imb.12250 [PDF].

  22. Ronai, I., Vergoz, V. and Oldroyd, B.P. (2016) The mechanistic, genetic and evolutionary basis of worker sterility in the social Hymenoptera. Advances in the Study of Behaviour 48: 251–317. DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2016.03.002 [PDF].

  23. Ronai, I., Oldroyd, B.P., Barton, D.A., Cabanes, G., Lim, J. and Vergoz, V. (2016) Anarchy is a molecular signature of worker sterility in the honey bee. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33: 134–142. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv202 [OA].

  24. Ronai, I., Barton, D.A., Oldroyd, B.P. and Vergoz, V. (2015) Regulation of oogenesis in honey bee workers via programed cell death. Journal of Insect Physiology 81: 36–41. DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.06.014 [PDF].

Manuscripts

  • Dillon, K.C., Frederick, J.C., Sprong, H., Glenn, T.C. and Ronai, I. Tick genome assemblies: overcoming biological limitations through advances in sequencing technologies. BioRxiv preprint DOI: 10.1101/2025.11.11.687924 [OA].

  • Kapoor, R.R., Schwager, E.E., Phuangphong, S., Rivard, E.L., Kuyyamudi, C., Ghosh, S., Ronai, I. and Extavour, C.G. Evolutionary innovation through fusion of sequences from across the tree of life. BioRxiv preprint DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.30.672725 [OA].

Policy documents

  1. Entomological Society of America writing committee (2020) ESA Position Statement on the Importance of Continued Innovation in Gene Drive Technology. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 113: 486–487. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saaa029 [OA].

Google Scholar link
ResearchGate link

© Isobel Ronai 2026

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