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Current Grant Support
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Sand Fly Our observation that the sand fly salivary protein, maxadilan is highly polymorphic was surprising. It would seem that the amino acid sequence of such a protein, with functions presumably vital to the sand fly, would be conserved. We hypothesize that hyper-variation in maxadilan has evolved as a mechanism for the avoidance of host immune response mounted against it. -more- |
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| Variation in maxadilan and its consequences. (Photo by Greg Lanzaro) | ||
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Anopheles Mosquito Malaria control strategies based on genetic manipulation of vectors will require extensive knowledge of vector population genetics. What will be the most suitable time, location and type of mosquito? Critical information includes: population size, patterns of gene flow, the breeding structure of populations and the effects of natural selection on individual gene loci. -more- |
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| Population genomics of the mosquito An. gambiae in Africa. (Photo by Anthony Cornel) | ||
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Culex Mosquitoes Mosquitoes in the genus Culex are major vectors of human diseases throughout the world. In the U.S. Culex mosquitoes have been identified as the principal vectors of West Nile Virus (WNV). The research activities described in this proposal combine the expertise of medical entomologists, molecular biologists, chemical/behavioral ecologists and biochemists from the University of California, Davis and UC, Riverside campuses; operational specialists from the Coachella Valley, Greater Los Angeles, Merced County and Shasta County Mosquito and Vector Control Districts, and industry partners from the Bayer Environmental Science, Bedoukian Research and Syngenta corporations. -more- |
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| Control of urban and peri-urban Culex mosquitoes. (Photo by Jack Kelly Clark) | ||