A5019478376- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Insect Resistance and Genetics
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Insect Utilization and Effects
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Insect Pest Control Strategies
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Plant Virus Research Studies
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Agricultural pest management studies
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Studies on Chitinases and Chitosanases
- Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects
- Vector-Borne Animal Diseases
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Entomopathogenic Microorganisms in Pest Control
- Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Insect behavior and control techniques
Kansas State University
2016-2025
Waters (United States)
2012-2024
Michigan State University
2016-2018
National Institutes of Health
2009
Arizona State University
2008
Edenspace Systems (United States)
2008
Colorado State University
2008
University of California, Riverside
1999-2006
Institute of Zoology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
2004
Comenius University Bratislava
2004
Tribolium castaneum is a member of the most species-rich eukaryotic order, powerful model organism for study generalized insect development, and an important pest stored agricultural products. We describe its genome sequence here. This omnivorous beetle has evolved ability to interact with diverse chemical environment, as shown by large expansions in odorant gustatory receptors, well P450 other detoxification enzymes. Development more representative insects than Drosophila, fact reflected...
The honey bee is an important model system for increasing understanding of molecular and neural mechanisms underlying social behaviors relevant to the agricultural industry basic science. western bee, Apis mellifera, has served as a species, its genome sequence been published. In contrast, Asian cerana, not yet sequenced. A. cerana raised in countries thousands years brought considerable economic benefits apicultural industry. A divergent biological traits compared mellifera it played key...
Abstract Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis diseases. The large reflects accumulation repetitive DNA, new lineages retro-transposons, gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather pancrustaceans. Annotation scaffolds representing ∼57% genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes...
In feeding, aphids inject saliva into plant tissues, gaining access to phloem sap and eliciting (and sometimes overcoming) responses. We are examining the involvement, in this aphid-plant interaction, of individual aphid proteins enzymes, as identified a salivary gland cDNA library. Here, we focus on protein have arbitrarily designated Protein C002. shown, by using RNAi-based transcript knockdown, that is important survival pea (Acyrthosiphon pisum) fava bean, host plant. further...
Neuropeptides and protein hormones are ancient molecules that mediate cell-to-cell communication. The whole genome sequence from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum , along with those other insect species, provides an opportunity to study evolution of genes encoding neuropeptide hormones. We identified 41 these in by using a combination bioinformatic peptidomic approaches. These encode >80 mature neuropeptides hormones, 49 peptides which were experimentally peptidomics central...
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are ancient, ubiquitous sensors vital to environmental and physiological signaling throughout organismal life. With the publication of Drosophila genome, numerous “orphan” GPCRs have become available for functional analysis. Here we characterize two groups predicted as peptides with a C-terminal amino acid sequence motif consisting −PRXamide (PRXa). Assuming ligand-receptor coevolution, alternative hypotheses were constructed tested. The insect PRXa...
Abstract Injection of siRNA (small interfering RNA) into parthenogenetic adult pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) is shown here to lead depletion a target salivary gland transcript. The was generated from double stranded RNA that covered most the open reading frame transcript, which we have called Coo2. Coo2 transcript level decreases dramatically over 3-day period after injection siRNA. With lag 1 2 days, siCoo2-RNA injected insects died, on average 8 days before death control with for green...
Corazonin is a highly conserved neuropeptide hormone of wide-spread occurrence in insects yet associated with no universally recognized function. After discovery the corazonin receptor Drosophila , we identified its ortholog moth, Manduca sexta as prelude to physiological studies. The cDNA M. encodes protein 436 amino acids seven putative transmembrane domains and shares common ancestry counterpart. exhibits high sensitivity selectivity for when expressed Xenopus oocytes (EC 50 ≈ 200 pM) or...
BeetleBase (http://www.beetlebase.org) has been updated to provide more comprehensive genomic information for the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. The database contains sequence scaffolds mapped 10 linkage groups (genome assembly release Tcas_3.0), genetic maps, official gene set, Reference Sequences from NCBI (RefSeq), predicted models, ESTs and whole-genome tiling array data representing several developmental stages. was reconstructed using upgraded Generic Model Organism Database...
Significance Successful courtship and reproduction, which are at the center of evolutionary processes, involve complex interactions between neural endocrine systems. In this study, we describe a group neuropeptides that have named “natalisin” (from Latin natalis for “birth”) because their function in promoting reproduction arthropods. Three holometabolous insects, Drosophila melanogaster , Bombyx mori Tribolium castaneum were examined to understand patterns natalisin expression assess...
We compared biological functions of two acetylcholinesterase genes (TcAce1 and TcAce2) in Tribolium castaneum, a globally distributed major pest stored grain products an emerging model organism, by using RNA interference. Although both expressed at all developmental stages mainly the brain, transcript level TcAce1 was 1.2- to 8.7-fold higher than that TcAce2, depending on stages. Silencing 20-day larvae led 100% mortality within weeks after eclosion increased larval susceptibilities...
During each molting cycle of insect development, synthesis new cuticle occurs concurrently with the partial degradation overlying old exoskeleton. Protection newly synthesized from fluid enzymes has long been attributed to presence an impermeable envelope layer that was thought serve as a physical barrier, preventing accessing and thereby ensuring selective only one. In this study, using red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum , model species, we show entirely different unexpected mechanism...
The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum has emerged as an important model organism for the study of gene function in development and physiology, ecological evolutionary genomics, pest control a plethora other topics. RNA interference (RNAi), transgenesis genome editing are well established resources genome-wide RNAi screening have become available this model. All these techniques depend on high quality assembly precise models. However, first version was generated by Sanger sequencing, with...
Abstract Background The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is a globally invasive pest and plant virus vector on wide array of food, fiber, ornamental crops. underlying genetic mechanisms the processes governing thrips biology, feeding behaviors, ecology, insecticide resistance are largely unknown. To address this gap, we present F. draft genome assembly official gene set. Results We report first sequence for any member insect order Thysanoptera. Benchmarking...
The association of decreased fecundity with insecticide resistance and the negative sublethal effects insecticides on insect reproduction indicates typical trade-off between two highly energy-demanding processes, detoxification reproduction. However, underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. energy sensor adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) transcription factor Cap "n" collar isoform C (CncC) important regulators metabolism xenobiotic response, respectively. In this...
At the end of each developmental stage, insects perform a stereotypic behavioral sequence leading to ecdysis old cuticle. While ecdysis-triggering hormone (ETH) is sufficient trigger this sequence, it has remained unclear whether required. We show that deletion eth, gene encoding ETH in Drosophila, leads lethal and physiological deficits. Null mutants (eth–) fail inflate new respiratory system on schedule, do not exhibit phenotype buttoned-up, which characterized by incomplete 98% mortality...