Abstract

Population replacement using refractory vector strains has been proposed as a means to control the transmission of parasitic diseases. Our ultimate objective is to produce vector strains that are refractory to parasites and viruses and that can be used in novel disease control strategies. The abilities to make and test genetically-altered vector strains in the laboratory are necessary prerequisites to any field trials.
Our specific aims are to develop methods for assaying the effects of hybrid gene contructions on the development and replication of parasites and viruses in the vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The approach that we are taking includes the use of molecular biological techniques to isolate promoters of genes expressed abundantly in specific tissues of the vector and the linkage of the promoters to marker genes to analyze their function in a transient expression assay. Eventually the marker genes will be replaced by select DNA sequences that will be tested for their effects on parasite transmission. The efficiency of the assay will be improved by isolating mosquito autonomously replicating sequences and incorporating them into the hybrid plasmids. This assay will allow us to test hybrid gene constructs for their effects on parasite transmission in the absence of a system for producing stable transformed mosquitoes. We anticipate that our work will lead to the production of refractory strains that can be used in population replacement strategies.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01AI029746-01
Application #
3144668
Study Section
Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Study Section (TMP)
Project Start
1989-09-01
Project End
1992-08-31
Budget Start
1989-09-01
Budget End
1990-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
161202122
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92697

  Publications

Bottino-Rojas, Vanessa; Talyuli, Octavio A C; Carrara, Luana et al. (2018) The redox-sensing gene Nrf2 affects intestinal homeostasis, insecticide resistance, and Zika virus susceptibility in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. J Biol Chem 293:9053-9063
Macias, Vanessa M; Jimenez, Alyssa J; Burini-Kojin, Bianca et al. (2017) nanos-Driven expression of piggyBac transposase induces mobilization of a synthetic autonomous transposon in the malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles stephensi. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 87:81-89
Carballar-Lejarazú, R; Brennock, P; James, A A (2016) Suppressor of hairy-wing, modifier of mdg4 and centrosomal protein of 190 gene orthologues of the gypsy insulator complex in the malaria mosquito, Anopheles stephensi. Insect Mol Biol 25:460-9
Peng, Z; Xu, W W; Sham, Y et al. (2016) Mosquito salivary allergen Aed a 3: cloning, comprehensive molecular analysis, and clinical evaluation. Allergy 71:621-8
Alonso-Morales, Alberto; González-López, Lorena; Cázares-Raga, Febe Elena et al. (2015) Protein phosphorylation during Plasmodium berghei gametogenesis. Exp Parasitol 156:49-60
Lo, Eugenia; Yewhalaw, Delenasaw; Zhong, Daibin et al. (2015) Molecular epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria among Duffy-positive and Duffy-negative populations in Ethiopia. Malar J 14:84
Gantz, Valentino M; Jasinskiene, Nijole; Tatarenkova, Olga et al. (2015) Highly efficient Cas9-mediated gene drive for population modification of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:E6736-43
Wang, Yueqiang; Tan, Anjiang; Xu, Jun et al. (2014) Site-specific, TALENs-mediated transformation of Bombyx mori. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 55:26-30
Macias, V; Coleman, J; Bonizzoni, M et al. (2014) piRNA pathway gene expression in the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi. Insect Mol Biol 23:579-86
Marinotti, Osvaldo; Ngo, Tuan; Kojin, Bianca B et al. (2014) Integrated proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of the Aedes aegypti eggshell. BMC Dev Biol 14:15

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