Kean University student Nicolas Largotta and assistant professor Brenna Levine work in a lab on Kean’s Union campus.
UNION, NJ — A Kean University biology professor co-authored a research paper proving female crocodiles can reproduce without a mate – a finding that sheds new light on scientists’ understanding of crocodiles’ ancestors, dinosaurs.
Assistant Professor Brenna Levine of The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology at Kean wrote the novel software program that used genomic data to prove “virgin birth” can occur in crocodiles.
“Due to the evolutionary relationship between crocodiles and dinosaurs, our finding makes it very likely that dinosaurs and pterosaurs could reproduce this way as well,” Levine said. “This is a very important evolutionary finding and it is also basically the plot of ‘Jurassic Park.’”
The crocodile research paper, “Discovery of facultative parthenogenesis in a New World crocodile,” was co-authored by Levine, a molecular ecologist; Warren Booth, an endowed professor of urban entomology at Virginia Tech; and others on a seven-member team.
The research was published in the journal, Biology Letters.
The research began with a female crocodile in captivity in Costa Rica, which was isolated since it was 2 years old, but laid eggs. One egg developed a fully-grown, stillborn embryo that scientists suspected could be a “parthenogen,” born through asexual reproduction.
Tissue from the crocodile mother and embryo was shipped to the research team. Researchers sequenced the DNA, then Levine created the software program to analyze genomes, finding there was no evidence a male crocodile had been involved in the reproduction.
While facultative parthenogenesis, or virgin birth, has been found in birds, snakes and lizards, the crocodile discovery makes it likely that dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and possibly all reptiles, could reproduce that way, Levine said.
“These results move us a long way toward understanding how and when reproductive modes evolved,” Levine said.
Levine, who received her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Arkansas, and her bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University, conducts research in the areas of reproductive ecology and invasive species.
In a separate research project, Levine was awarded a highly competitive research grant from the National Science Foundation for $471,223. In that three-year research project, titled “BRC-BIO: Effects of urbanization on the evolutionary dynamics of invasive species range expansion,” Levine will lead research at Kean on the role of urbanization in the evolution and spread of the invasive spotted lanternfly.
She will sequence DNA of spotted lanternflies in their native range of China and in invasive ranges of the United States and Japan to understand how urbanization affects their spread and evolution.
Brian Teasdale, associate dean of CSMT at Kean, said Levine’s research aligns with Kean’s development as a research university.
“Dr. Levine’s work helps move Kean University another step further toward its goal of the Carnegie R2, high-research activity classification,” Teasdale said. “Additionally, Dr. Levine’s work on lanternflies and invasive species, which has direct implications for our state and ecosystems throughout the nation, is an example of how Kean has solidified itself as New Jersey’s first urban research university.”
Levine posts time-elapsed videos of her research online, using the Twitter handle @BioBrenna.