A5041618785- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Malaria Research and Control
- Dengue and Mosquito Control Research
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Insect Pest Control Strategies
- Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Insect Utilization and Effects
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Marine and fisheries research
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Marine Sponges and Natural Products
- Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study
- Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
University of California, San Diego
2023-2025
Princeton University
2017-2025
Stanford University
2015-2024
Pacific University
2017-2024
Neuroscience Institute
2023-2024
Zero to Three
2017
Brown University
2015
Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infect more than 400 million people each year with dangerous viral pathogens including dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. Progress in understanding the biology of developing tools to fight them has been slowed by lack a high-quality genome assembly. Here we combine diverse technologies produce markedly improved, fully re-annotated AaegL5 assembly, demonstrate how it accelerates mosquito science. We anchored physical cytogenetic maps, doubled number...
The majority of mosquito-borne illness is spread by a few mosquito species that have evolved to specialize in biting humans, yet the precise causes this behavioral shift are poorly understood. We address gap arboviral vector Aedes aegypti. first collect and characterize behavior mosquitoes from 27 sites scattered across species' ancestral range sub-Saharan Africa, revealing previously unrecognized variation preference for human versus animal odor. then use modeling show over 80% can be...
Population genomic simulations predict coral adaptation only under mitigated climate change scenarios.
The globally invasive mosquito subspecies Aedes aegypti is an effective vector of human arboviruses, in part because it specializes biting humans and breeding habitats. Recent work suggests that specialization first arose as adaptation to long, hot dry seasons the West African Sahel, where Ae. relies on human-stored water for breeding. Here, we use whole-genome cross-coalescent analysis date emergence human-specialist populationsand thus further probe climate hypothesis. Importantly, take...
Environmental heterogeneity gives rise to phenotypic variation through a combination of plasticity and fixed genetic effects. For reef-building corals, understanding the relative roles acclimatization adaptation in generating thermal tolerance is fundamental predicting future response coral populations climate change. The temperature mosaic lagoon Ofu Island, American Samoa, represents an ideal natural laboratory for studying corals. Two adjacent back-reef pools 500 meters apart have...
The drivers and patterns of zoonotic virus emergence in the human population are poorly understood. mosquito Aedes aegypti is a major arbovirus vector native to Africa that invaded most world's tropical belt over past four centuries, after evolution "domestic" form specialized biting humans breeding water storage containers. Here, we show specialization subsequent spread A. out were accompanied by an increase its intrinsic ability acquire transmit emerging pathogen Zika virus. Thus, recent...
At the Rowley Shoals in Western Australia, prominent reef flat becomes exposed on low tide and stagnant water shallow atoll lagoons heats up, creating a natural laboratory for characterizing mechanisms of coral resilience to climate change. To explore these Acropora tenuis, we collected samples from lagoon slope habitats combined whole-genome sequencing, ITS2 metabarcoding, experimental heat stress, transcriptomics. Despite high gene flow across atoll, identified clear shifts allele...
Abstract Background Understanding genome organization and evolution is important for species involved in transmission of human diseases, such as mosquitoes. Anophelinae Culicinae subfamilies mosquitoes show striking differences sizes, sex chromosome arrangements, behavior, ability to transmit pathogens. However, the genomic basis these not fully understood. Methods In this study, we used a combination advanced technologies Oxford Nanopore Technology sequencing, Hi-C scaffolding, Bionano,...
Organisms respond to environmental variation partly through changes in gene expression, which underlie both homeostatic and acclimatory responses stress. In some cases, so many genes change expression response different influences that understanding patterns for all these individual becomes difficult. To reduce this problem, we use a systems genetics approach show the of thousands reef-building corals can be explained as small number coexpressed "modules." Modules were often enriched...
Corals respond to heat pulses that cause bleaching with massive transcriptional change, but the immediate responses stress lead up these shifts have never been detailed. Understanding early signals could be important for identifying regulatory mechanisms responsible and how vary between more less resilient corals. Using RNA sequencing (RNAseq) sampling every 30 minutes during a short-term shock, we found components of transcriptome were significantly upregulated within 90 min after...
Closely related species often show substantial differences in ecological traits that allow them to occupy different environmental niches. For few of these systems is it clear what the genomic basis adaptation and whether a loci major effect or many genome-wide drive divergence. Four cryptic tabletop coral Acropora hyacinthus are broadly sympatric American Samoa; here we two common have key such as microhabitat distributions thermal stress tolerance. We compared gene expression patterns...
Reef-building coral species are experiencing an unprecedented decline owing to increasing frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves associated bleaching-induced mortality. Closely related from the Acropora hyacinthus complex differ in heat tolerance their association with heat-tolerant symbionts. We used low-coverage full genome sequencing 114 colonies monitored across 2015 bleaching event American Samoa determine genetic differences among four cryptic (termed HA, HC, HD HE) that have...
The olfactory sensory neurons of vinegar flies and mice tend to express a single ligand-specific receptor. While this ′one neuron-one receptor′ motif has long been expected apply broadly across insects, recent evidence suggests it may not extend mosquitoes. We sequenced analyzed the transcriptomes 46,000 from antennae dengue mosquito Aedes aegypti resolve all olfactory, thermosensory, hygrosensory neuron subtypes identify receptors expressed therein. find that half coexpress multiple...
Chromosomal inversions play a fundamental role in evolution and have been shown to regulate epidemiologically important traits malaria mosquitoes. However, they never characterized Aedes aegypti, the major vector of arboviruses, because poor structure its polytene chromosomes. In this study, we applied Hi-C proximity ligation approach identify chromosomal 25 strains Ae. acquired from worldwide distribution, as well one strain mascarensis. The study identified 21 multi-megabase with uneven...
African populations of the mosquito Aedes aegypti are usually considered less susceptible to infection by human-pathogenic flaviviruses than globally invasive found outside Africa. Although this contrast has been well documented for Zika virus (ZIKV), it is unclear what extent true dengue (DENV), most prevalent flavivirus humans. Addressing question complicated substantial genetic diversity among DENV strains, notably in form four types (DENV1 DENV4), that can lead genetically specific...
Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are ubiquitous tools in research, yet their endogenous functions nature poorly understood. In this work, we describe a combination of for FPs clade intertidal sea anemones whose control genetic color polymorphism together with the ability to combat oxidative stress. Focusing on underlying genetics fluorescent green “Neon” morph, show that allelic differences single FP gene generate its strong and vibrant color, by increasing both molecular brightness expression...
Abstract Adaptations to anthropogenic domestic habitats contribute the success of mosquito Aedes aegypti as a major global vector several arboviral diseases. The species inhabited African forests before expanding into and spreading other continents. Despite well‐studied evolutionary history, how this initially moved human settlements in Africa remains unclear. During initial habitat transition, Ae. switched their larval sites from natural water containers like tree holes artificial clay...
The emergence of the clustered, regularly interspersed, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 technology has revolutionized genetic engineering field and opened doors for precise genome editing in multiple species, including non-model organisms. In mosquito Aedes aegypti, loss-of-function mutations DNA insertions have been accomplished with this technology. Here, we describe a detailed protocol through embryonic microinjection A. aegypti using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, focusing on both...
Previous transcriptional studies in heat stressed corals have shown that many genes are responsive to generalized stress whereas the expression patterns of specific gene networks after show strong correlations with variation bleaching outcomes. However, where these expressed is unknown. Here we employed situ hybridization identify spatial previously predicted be involved general response and bleaching. We found Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors (TNFRs), known responders stress, were not...
The explosive emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) across the Pacific and Americas since 2007 was associated with hundreds thousands human cases severe outcomes, including congenital microcephaly caused by ZIKV infection during pregnancy. Although first isolated in Uganda, Africa has so far been exempt from large-scale epidemics, despite widespread susceptibility among African populations. A possible explanation for this pattern is natural variation populations primary vector ZIKV, mosquito Aedes...
Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infect hundreds of millions people each year with dangerous viral pathogens including dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and chikungunya. Progress in understanding the biology this insect, developing tools to fight it, has been slowed by lack a high-quality genome assembly. Here we combine diverse technologies produce AaegL5, dramatically improved annotated assembly, demonstrate how it accelerates mosquito science control. We anchored physical cytogenetic maps,...
Abstract Aedes aegypti is an important mosquito vector of human disease with a wide distribution across the globe. Climatic conditions and ecological pressure drive differences in biology several populations this mosquito, including blood-feeding behavior competence. However, no study has compared activity and/or sleep among different populations/lineages Ae. . Having recently established sleep-like states three species observable timing amount species, we investigated levels 17 lines drawn...