| chikungunya virus and aedes mosquitoes: saliva is infectious as soon as two days after oral infection. | aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus are potential vectors of chikungunya virus (chikv). the recent chikv outbreaks were caused by a new variant characterized by a mutation in the e1 glycoprotein gene (e1-226v) which has favored a better transmissibility by ae. albopictus. as ae. albopictus tends to replace ae. aegypti in many regions, one question remained: is ae. albopictus as efficient as ae. aegypti to transmit the variant e1-226v of chikv? | 2009 | 19521520 |
| functional equivalency inferred from "authoritative sources" in networks of homologous proteins. | a one-on-one mapping of protein functionality across different species is a critical component of comparative analysis. this paper presents a heuristic algorithm for discovering the most likely functional counterparts (molfuncs) of a protein, based on simple concepts from network theory. a key feature of our algorithm is utilization of the user's knowledge to assign high confidence to selected functional identification. we show use of the algorithm to retrieve functional equivalents for 7 membra ... | 2009 | 19521530 |
| a shut-down in expression of an insulin-like peptide, ilp-1, halts ovarian maturation during the overwintering diapause of the mosquito culex pipiens. | short day-length is used to programme adult diapause in the mosquito, culex pipiens. the downstream endocrine event that halts ovarian maturation is a shut-down in juvenile hormone (jh) production, and recent evidence suggests that the insulin signalling pathway may be a key upstream player in executing this developmental arrest. genes encoding insulin-like peptides-1, -2 and -5 were identified in c. pipiens, and we report that transcript levels of insulin-like peptides-1 and -5 were significant ... | 2009 | 19523064 |
| embryonic diapause highlighted by differential expression of mrnas for ecdysteroidogenesis, transcription and lipid sparing in the cricket allonemobius socius. | embryos of the ground cricket, allonemobius socius, enter diapause 4-5 days post-oviposition and overwinter in this dormant state that is characterized by developmental arrest. suppressive subtractive hybridization and quantitative real-time pcr reveal eight candidate genes in pre-diapause embryos that show promise as regulators of diapause entry, when compared with embryos not destined for diapause. identifications are based both on the magnitude/consistency of differential mrna abundances and ... | 2009 | 19525434 |
| transcriptomes and pathways associated with infectivity, survival and immunogenicity in brugia malayi l3. | filarial nematode parasites cause serious diseases such as elephantiasis and river blindness in humans, and heartworm infections in dogs. third stage filarial larvae (l3) are a critical stage in the life cycle of filarial parasites, because this is the stage that is transmitted by arthropod vectors to initiate infections in mammals. improved understanding of molecular mechanisms associated with this transition may provide important leads for development of new therapies and vaccines to prevent f ... | 2009 | 19527522 |
| establishment and characterization of a new aedes aegypti (l.) (diptera: culicidae) cell line with special emphasis on virus susceptibility. | a new cell line from the neonate larvae of aedes aegypti (l) mosquito was established and characterized. the cell line at the 50th passage (p) level consisted of three prominent cell types, i.e., epithelial-like cells (92%), fibroblast-like cells (7%), and giant cells ( approximately 1%). karyological analysis showed diploid (2n = 6) number of chromosomes in >75% cells at p-50. the growth kinetics studied at 52nd passage level showed approximately tenfold increase in cell number over a 10-d stud ... | 2009 | 19533252 |
| humanized mice show clinical signs of dengue fever according to infecting virus genotype. | we demonstrated that the infection of humanized nod-scid il2r gamma(null) mice with different strains (representing the four genotypes) of dengue virus serotype 2 (den-2) can induce the development of human-like disease, including fever, viremia, erythema, and thrombocytopenia. newborn mice were irradiated and received transplants by intrahepatic inoculation of human cord blood-derived hematopoietic progenitor cells (cd34(+)). after 6 weeks, mouse peripheral blood was tested by flow cytometry to ... | 2009 | 19535452 |
| immatures of aedes aegypti in darjeeling himalayas--expanding geographical limits in india. | | 2009 | 19535844 |
| origins of alphavirus-derived small rnas in mosquitoes. | the continual transmission in nature of many arthropod-borne viruses depends on the establishment of a persistent, nonpathogenic infection in a mosquito vector. the importance of antiviral immunity directed by small rnas in the mechanism by which alphaviruses establish a persistent, nonpathogenic infection in the mosquito vector has recently been demonstrated. the origin of the small rnas central to this rna silencing response has recently been the subject of debate. here we briefly summarize wh ... | 2009 | 19535909 |
| environmental conditions in water storage drums and influences on aedes aegypti in trinidad, west indies. | water storage drums are often a primary breeding site for aedes aegypti in developing countries. habitat characteristics can impact both adult and larval fitness and survival, which may potentially influence arbovirus transmission. our objective was to compare fundamental environmental differences in water drums based on the presence or absence of larvae in trinidad. drums were categorized according to the larval status, and if the drum was constructed of steel or plastic. water samples were ana ... | 2009 | 19539592 |
| histamine h(3) receptor-mediated signaling protects mice from cerebral malaria. | histamine is a biogenic amine that has been shown to contribute to several pathological conditions, such as allergic conditions, experimental encephalomyelitis, and malaria. in humans, as well as in murine models of malaria, increased plasma levels of histamine are associated with severity of infection. we reported recently that histamine plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (cm) in mice infected with plasmodium berghei anka. histamine exerts its biological ... | 2009 | 19547708 |
| analysis of von willebrand factor a domain-related protein (warp) polymorphism in temperate and tropical plasmodium vivax field isolates. | the identification of key molecules is crucial for designing transmission-blocking vaccines (tbvs), among those ookinete micronemal proteins are candidate as a general class of malaria transmission-blocking targets. here, the sequence analysis of an extra-cellular malaria protein expressed in ookinetes, named von willebrand factor a domain-related protein (warp), is reported in 91 plasmodium vivax isolates circulating in different regions of iran. | 2009 | 19549316 |
| effective insect repellent formulation in both surfactantless and classical microemulsions with a long-lasting protection for human beings. | the aim of this work is to develop a new generation of repellent products with a long-lasting protection based on a natural component, para-menthane-3,8-diol (pmd). the active is first rendered soluble in a surfactantless microemulsion (h(2)o/(i)proh/pmd) and then in classical microemulsions. the presence of self-associated nanostructures is detected by dynamic light scattering (dls). a synergetic system of surfactants (cremophor) rh40 and texapon n70) is used. additionally, 2-ethylhexane-1,3-di ... | 2009 | 19551736 |
| highly focused anopheline breeding sites and malaria transmission in dakar. | urbanization has a great impact on the composition of the vector system and malaria transmission dynamics. in dakar, some malaria cases are autochthonous but parasite rates and incidences of clinical malaria attacks have been recorded at low levels. ecological heterogeneity of malaria transmission was investigated in dakar, in order to characterize the anopheles breeding sites in the city and to study the dynamics of larval density and adult aggressiveness in ten characteristically different urb ... | 2009 | 19552809 |
| the role of nf-kappab factor rel2 in the aedes aegypti immune response. | mosquitoes transmit numerous diseases that continue to be an enormous burden on public health worldwide. transgenic mosquitoes impervious to vector-borne pathogens, in concert with vector control and drug and vaccine development, comprise an arsenal of means anticipated to defeat mosquito-spread diseases in the future. mosquito transgenesis allows tissue-specific manipulation of their major immune pathways and enhances the ability to study mosquito-pathogen interactions. here, we report the gene ... | 2009 | 19552893 |
| analysis of salivary transcripts and antigens of the sand fly phlebotomus arabicus. | sand fly saliva plays an important role in blood feeding and leishmania transmission as it was shown to increase parasite virulence. on the other hand, immunity to salivary components impedes the establishment of infection. therefore, it is most desirable to gain a deeper insight into the composition of saliva in sand fly species which serve as vectors of various forms of leishmaniases. in the present work, we focused on phlebotomus (adlerius) arabicus, which was recently shown to transmit leish ... | 2009 | 19555500 |
| voltage-gated sodium channel polymorphism and metabolic resistance in pyrethroid-resistant aedes aegypti from brazil. | the nature of pyrethroid resistance in aedes aegypti brazilian populations was investigated. quantification of enzymes related to metabolic resistance in two distinct populations, located in the northeast and southeast regions, revealed increases in glutathione-s-transferase (gst) and esterase levels. additionally, polymorphism was found in the iis6 region of ae. aegypti voltage-gated sodium channel (aana(v)), the pyrethroid target site. sequences were classified in two haplotype groups, a and b ... | 2009 | 19556575 |
| the role of salivary and intestinal complement system inhibitors in the midgut protection of triatomines and mosquitoes. | saliva of haematophagous arthropods contain biomolecules involved directly or indirectly with the haematophagy process, and among them are encountered some complement system inhibitors. the most obvious function for these inhibitors would be the protection of the midgut against injury by the complement. to investigate this hypothesis, triatoma brasiliensis nymphs were forced to ingest human serum in conditions in which the protection of midgut by the inhibitors is bypassed. in these conditions, ... | 2009 | 19557176 |
| expressed sequence tags from larval gut of the european corn borer (ostrinia nubilalis): exploring candidate genes potentially involved in bacillus thuringiensis toxicity and resistance. | lepidoptera represents more than 160,000 insect species which include some of the most devastating pests of crops, forests, and stored products. however, the genomic information on lepidopteran insects is very limited. only a few studies have focused on developing expressed sequence tag (est) libraries from the guts of lepidopteran larvae. knowledge of the genes that are expressed in the insect gut are crucial for understanding basic physiology of food digestion, their interactions with bacillus ... | 2009 | 19558725 |
| assay development and high-throughput antiviral drug screening against bluetongue virus. | bluetongue virus (btv) infection is one of the most important diseases of domestic livestock. there are no antivirals available against btv disease. in this paper, we present the development, optimization and validation of an in vitro cell-based high-throughput screening (hts) assay using the luminescent-based celltiter-glo reagent to identify novel antivirals against btv. conditions of the cytopathic effect (cpe)-based assay were optimized at cell density of 5000 cells/well in medium containing ... | 2009 | 19559054 |
| using adult mosquitoes to transfer insecticides to aedes aegypti larval habitats. | vector control is a key means of combating mosquito-borne diseases and the only tool available for tackling the transmission of dengue, a disease for which no vaccine, prophylaxis, or therapeutant currently exists. the most effective mosquito control methods include a variety of insecticidal tools that target adults or juveniles. their successful implementation depends on impacting the largest proportion of the vector population possible. we demonstrate a control strategy that dramatically impro ... | 2009 | 19561295 |
| the neovolcanic axis is a barrier to gene flow among aedes aegypti populations in mexico that differ in vector competence for dengue 2 virus. | aedes aegypti is the main mosquito vector of the four serotypes of dengue virus (denv). previous population genetic and vector competence studies have demonstrated substantial genetic structure and major differences in the ability to transmit dengue viruses in ae. aegypti populations in mexico. | 2009 | 19564909 |
| phylogenetic analysis of the sap30 family of transcriptional regulators reveals functional divergence in the domain that binds the nuclear matrix. | deacetylation of histones plays a fundamental role in gene silencing, and this is mediated by a corepressor complex containing sin3 as an essential scaffold protein. in this report we examine the evolution of two proteins in this complex, the sin3-associated proteins sap30l and sap30, by using an archive of protein sequences from 62 species. | 2009 | 19566944 |
| bacterial quality of drinking water stored in containers by boat households in hue city, vietnam. | to examine the bacterial quality of drinking water stored in containers by boat households in the river basin of hue city, and associated factors. | 2008 | 19568906 |
| the vasa regulatory region mediates germline expression and maternal transmission of proteins in the malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae: a versatile tool for genetic control strategies. | germline specific promoters are an essential component of potential vector control strategies which function by genetic drive, however suitable promoters are not currently available for the main human malaria vector anopheles gambiae. | 2009 | 19573226 |
| a bac-based physical map of the hessian fly genome anchored to polytene chromosomes. | the hessian fly (mayetiola destructor) is an important insect pest of wheat. it has tractable genetics, polytene chromosomes, and a small genome (158 mb). investigation of the hessian fly presents excellent opportunities to study plant-insect interactions and the molecular mechanisms underlying genome imprinting and chromosome elimination. a physical map is needed to improve the ability to perform both positional cloning and comparative genomic analyses with the fully sequenced genomes of other ... | 2009 | 19573234 |
| malaria parasite development in the mosquito and infection of the mammalian host. | plasmodium sporozoites are the product of a complex developmental process in the mosquito vector and are destined to infect the mammalian liver. attention has been drawn to the mosquito stages and pre-erythrocytic stages owing to recognition that these are bottlenecks in the parasite life cycle and that intervention at these stages can block transmission and prevent infection. parasite progression in the anopheles mosquito, sporozoite transmission to the mammalian host by mosquito bite, and subs ... | 2009 | 19575563 |
| detection of novel insect flavivirus sequences integrated in aedes albopictus (diptera: culicidae) in northern italy. | the presence of dna sequences integrated from a new flavivirus related to cell fusing agent and kamiti river virus was identified in wild aedes albopictus mosquito populations from the provinces of trentino and padova, northern italy. field work was developed during august-october 2007 with bg-traps, and mosquitoes were screened for flavivirus and alphavirus. no alphavirus was detected, indicating that chikungunya virus is not present in these mosquitoes in trentino and padova area. however, 21% ... | 2009 | 19575816 |
| characterization of endogenous and recombinant forms of laccase-2, a multicopper oxidase from the tobacco hornworm, manduca sexta. | laccases belong to the group of multicopper oxidases that exhibit wide substrate specificity for polyphenols and aromatic amines. they are found in plants, fungi, bacteria, and insects. in insects the only known role for laccase is in cuticle sclerotization. however, extracting laccase from the insect's cuticle requires proteolysis, resulting in an enzyme that is missing its amino-terminus. to circumvent this problem, we expressed and purified full-length and amino-terminally truncated recombina ... | 2009 | 19576986 |
| an insight into the transcriptome and proteome of the salivary gland of the stable fly, stomoxys calcitrans. | adult stable flies are blood feeders, a nuisance, and mechanical vectors of veterinary diseases. to enable efficient feeding, blood sucking insects have evolved a sophisticated array of salivary compounds to disarm their host's hemostasis and inflammatory reaction. while the sialomes of several blood sucking nematocera flies have been described, no thorough description has been made so far of any brachycera, except for a detailed proteome analysis of a tabanid (xu et al., 2008). in this work we ... | 2009 | 19576987 |
| rnai targeting of west nile virus in mosquito midguts promotes virus diversification. | west nile virus (wnv) exists in nature as a genetically diverse population of competing genomes. this high genetic diversity and concomitant adaptive plasticity has facilitated the rapid adaptation of wnv to north american transmission cycles and contributed to its explosive spread throughout the new world. wnv is maintained in nature in a transmission cycle between mosquitoes and birds, with intrahost genetic diversity highest in mosquitoes. the mechanistic basis for this increase in genetic di ... | 2009 | 19578437 |
| analysis of expression in the anopheles gambiae developing testes reveals rapidly evolving lineage-specific genes in mosquitoes. | male mosquitoes do not feed on blood and are not involved in delivery of pathogens to humans. consequently, they are seldom the subjects of research, which results in a very poor understanding of their biology. to gain insights into male developmental processes we sought to identify genes transcribed exclusively in the reproductive tissues of male anopheles gambiae pupae. | 2009 | 19580678 |
| population genetics of the mosquito culex pipiens pallens reveals sex-linked asymmetric introgression by culex quinquefasciatus. | the culex pipiens complex in asia includes a temperate subspecies, culex pipiens pallens, of uncertain taxonomic status. the shape of the male genitalia suggests it is a hybrid between cx. pipiens and cx. quinquefasciatus. we studied populations of cx. p. pallens in japan, korea, and china and compared them to local populations of cx. quinquefasciatus and cx. p. pipiens. we examined variation in a nuclear intron in the acetylcholinesterase-2 gene [ace] and eight microsatellite loci. we found a d ... | 2009 | 19584006 |
| [entomological investigation following the re-emergence of yellow fever in 2008 in abidjan area (côte d'ivoire)]. | in april 2008, abidjan was again faced with another case of yellow fever after the epidemic of 2001 causing mass immunization campaign. in order to evaluate the extent of amaril virus circulation and the risk for local people, an entomological investigation was carried out by the ministry of health and public hygiene of côte d'ivoire. at "entent" area of treichville, breteau index was estimated at 34, recipient index at 20% and house index at 25%. those indexes were respectively 53, 21 and 31% a ... | 2009 | 19585894 |
| blood-feeding behavior of aedes albopictus, a vector of chikungunya on la réunion. | chikungunya virus (chikv) has long been considered to be transmitted to humans by the human-biting mosquito aedes aegypti, especially in africa. however, the recent outbreak of chikv involved another vector, aedes albopictus, and serological data in the literature suggest that several species of domestic or human-related vertebrates can be contaminated by this virus. however, the role of ae. albopictus mosquitoes as potential enzootic vectors for chikv has not yet been evaluated. here we investi ... | 2010 | 19589060 |
| genetic specificity and potential for local adaptation between dengue viruses and mosquito vectors. | several observations support the hypothesis that vector-driven selection plays an important role in shaping dengue virus (denv) genetic diversity. clustering of denv genetic diversity at a particular location may reflect underlying genetic structure of vector populations, which combined with specific vector genotype x virus genotype (g x g) interactions may promote adaptation of viral lineages to local mosquito vector genotypes. although spatial structure of vector polymorphism at neutral geneti ... | 2009 | 19589156 |
| developmental control of a lepidopteran pest spodoptera exigua by ingestion of bacteria expressing dsrna of a non-midgut gene. | rna interference (rnai) induced through double stranded rna (dsrna) has been used widely to study gene function in insects. recently, it has been reported that gene knockdown in several insects can be induced successfully through feeding with dsrna. however, it is still unknown whether phenotypic silencing of genes not expressed in the midgut occurs after ingestion of insect dsrna. | 2009 | 19593438 |
| spatio-temporal cluster analysis of county-based human west nile virus incidence in the continental united states. | west nile virus (wnv) is a vector-borne illness that can severely affect human health. after introduction on the east coast in 1999, the virus quickly spread and became established across the continental united states. however, there have been significant variations in levels of human wnv incidence spatially and temporally. in order to quantify these variations, we used kulldorff's spatial scan statistic and anselin's local moran's i statistic to uncover spatial clustering of human wnv incidence ... | 2009 | 19594928 |
| interference with hemozoin formation represents an important mechanism of schistosomicidal action of antimalarial quinoline methanols. | the parasitic trematode schistosoma mansoni is one of the major causative agents of human schistosomiasis, which afflicts 200 million people worldwide. praziquantel remains the main drug used for schistosomiasis treatment, and reliance on the single therapy has been prompting the search for new therapeutic compounds against this disease. our group has demonstrated that heme crystallization into hemozoin (hz) within the s. mansoni gut is a major heme detoxification route with lipid droplets invol ... | 2009 | 19597543 |
| genome analysis and expression patterns of odorant-binding proteins from the southern house mosquito culex pipiens quinquefasciatus. | olfactory-based behaviors in mosquitoes are mediated by odorant-binding proteins (obps). they form a multigenic family involved in the peripheral events in insect olfaction, specifically the transport of odorants to membrane-bound odorant receptors. obps contribute to the remarkable sensitivity of the insect's olfactory system and may be involved in the selective transport of odorants.we have employed a combination of bioinformatics and molecular approaches to identify and characterize members o ... | 2009 | 19606229 |
| hantavirus reservoir oligoryzomys longicaudatus spatial distribution sensitivity to climate change scenarios in argentine patagonia. | oligoryzomys longicaudatus (colilargo) is the rodent responsible for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (hps) in argentine patagonia. in past decades (1967-1998), trends of precipitation reduction and surface air temperature increase have been observed in western patagonia. we explore how the potential distribution of the hantavirus reservoir would change under different climate change scenarios based on the observed trends. | 2009 | 19607707 |
| high, clustered, nucleotide diversity in the genome of anopheles gambiae revealed through pooled-template sequencing: implications for high-throughput genotyping protocols. | association mapping approaches are dependent upon discovery and validation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps). to further association studies in anopheles gambiae we conducted a major resequencing programme, primarily targeting regions within or close to candidate genes for insecticide resistance. | 2009 | 19607710 |
| recombinant expression and biochemical characterization of the catalytic domain of acetylcholinesterase-1 from the african malaria mosquito, anopheles gambiae. | acetylcholinesterases (aches) and their genes from susceptible and resistant insects have been extensively studied to understand the molecular basis of target site insensitivity. due to the existence of other resistance mechanisms, however, it can be problematic to correlate directly a mutation with the resistant phenotype. an alternative approach involves recombinant expression and characterization of highly purified wild-type and mutant aches, which serves as a reliable platform for studying s ... | 2009 | 19607916 |
| plasmodium sporozoite invasion of the mosquito salivary gland. | about one to two million people die of malaria every year. anopheline mosquitoes are the obligatory vectors of plasmodium spp., the causative agent of malaria. for transmission to occur, the parasite has to undergo a complex developmental programme in the mosquito, culminating with sporozoite invasion of the salivary glands. strong circumstantial evidence suggests that sporozoite invasion requires specific interactions and recognition between sporozoite and salivary gland proteins. here we revie ... | 2009 | 19608457 |
| molecular and functional characterization of a c-type lysozyme from the asian corn borer, ostrinia furnacalis. | some lepidopteran lysozymes have been reported to display activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, in contrast to most lysozymes that are active only against gram-positive bacteria. ostrinlysc, a c-type lysozyme, was purified from the asian corn borer, ostrinia furnacalis guenée (lepidoptera: pyralidae), and shows activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. the nh2-terminal amino acid sequence was determined by edman degradation and used in a homology cloning str ... | 2009 | 19613460 |
| evolution of the gene lineage encoding the carbon dioxide receptor in insects. | a heterodimer of the insect chemoreceptors gr21a and gr63a has been shown to be the carbon dioxide receptor in drosophila melanogaster (meigen) (diptera: drosophilidae). comparison of the genes encoding these two proteins across the 12 available drosophilid fly genomes allows refined definition of their n-termini. these genes are highly conserved, along with a paralog of gr21a, in the anopheles gambiae, aedes aegypti, and culex pipiens mosquitoes, as well as in the silk moth bombyx mori and the ... | 2009 | 19613462 |
| virus-host coevolution: common patterns of nucleotide motif usage in flaviviridae and their hosts. | virus-host biological interaction is a continuous coevolutionary process involving both host immune system and viral escape mechanisms. flaviviridae family is composed of fast evolving rna viruses that infects vertebrate (mammals and birds) and/or invertebrate (ticks and mosquitoes) organisms. these host groups are very distinct life forms separated by a long evolutionary time, so lineage-specific anti-viral mechanisms are likely to have evolved. flaviviridae viruses which infect a single host l ... | 2009 | 19617912 |
| filamentous fungi associated with mosquito larvae (diptera: culicidae) in municipalities of the brazilian amazon. | several species of the family culicidae are important vectors of diseases in humans and other animals. immature stages are filter-feeders of organic particulate matter and microorganisms. studies on microbial diversity can contribute to the discovery of new substances that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry for food or for biological control. the aim of this study was to isolate and identify the fungi associated with culicidae larvae found in different habitats (natural and artificial), ... | 2009 | 19618051 |
| the role of human movement in the transmission of vector-borne pathogens. | human movement is a key behavioral factor in many vector-borne disease systems because it influences exposure to vectors and thus the transmission of pathogens. human movement transcends spatial and temporal scales with different influences on disease dynamics. here we develop a conceptual model to evaluate the importance of variation in exposure due to individual human movements for pathogen transmission, focusing on mosquito-borne dengue virus. | 2009 | 19621090 |
| co-infections with chikungunya virus and dengue virus in delhi, india. | aedes aegypti mosquitoes are common vectors for dengue virus and chikungunya virus. in areas where both viruses cocirculate, they can be transmitted together. during a dengue outbreak in delhi in 2006, 17 of 69 serum samples were positive for chikungunya virus by reverse transcription-pcr; 6 samples were positive for both viruses. | 2009 | 19624923 |
| performance of the realstar chikungunya virus real-time reverse transcription-pcr kit. | a novel commercial chikungunya virus real-time reverse transcription-pcr (rt-pcr) kit was evaluated on a comprehensive panel of original patient samples. the assay was 100% sensitive and specific in comparison to a published real-time rt-pcr. viral loads from both assays were highly correlated. the kit proved to be suitable for routine use in patient care. | 2009 | 19625474 |
| the effect of aliphatic carboxylic acids on olfaction-based host-seeking of the malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae sensu stricto. | the role of aliphatic carboxylic acids in host-seeking response of the malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae sensu stricto was examined both in a dual-choice olfactometer and with indoor traps. a basic attractive blend of ammonia + lactic acid served as internal standard odor. single carboxylic acids were tested in a tripartite blend with ammonia + lactic acid. four different airflow stream rates (0.5, 5, 50, and 100 ml/min) carrying the compounds were tested for their effect on trap entry response ... | 2009 | 19626371 |
| mosquito blood-meal analysis for avian malaria study in wild bird communities: laboratory verification and application to culex sasai (diptera: culicidae) collected in tokyo, japan. | we conducted laboratory experiments to verify molecular techniques of avian malaria parasite detection distinguishing between an infected mosquito (oocysts on midgut wall) and infective mosquito (sporozoites in salivary glands) in parallel with blood-meal identification from individual blood-fed mosquitoes prior to application to field survey for avian malaria. domestic fowl infected with plasmodium gallinaceum was exposed to a vector and non-vector mosquito species, aedes aegypti and culex pipi ... | 2009 | 19629522 |
| dengue cases and aedes aegypti indices in trinidad, west indies. | this study was conducted to determine whether any relationships exist between aedes aegypti indices, dengue seroprevalence and dengue transmission in county victoria, trinidad, west indies. the cardinal points surveillance method was used to evaluate 50 suspected dengue fever (df) cases. thirty-three (33) confirmed df cases were fully investigated within 48h of clinical diagnosis. using retrospective data collected during the previous year (2003-2004) and study data, key premises and key contain ... | 2009 | 19632189 |
| persistent wolbachia and cultivable bacteria infection in the reproductive and somatic tissues of the mosquito vector aedes albopictus. | commensal and symbiotic microbes have a considerable impact on the behavior of many arthropod hosts, including hematophagous species that transmit pathogens causing infectious diseases to human and animals. little is known about the bacteria associated with mosquitoes other than the vectorized pathogens. this study investigated wolbachia and cultivable bacteria that persist through generations in ae. albopictus organs known to host transmitted arboviruses, such as dengue and chikungunya. | 2009 | 19633721 |
| west nile virus infection alters midgut gene expression in culex pipiens quinquefasciatus say (diptera: culicidae). | alterations in gene expression in the midgut of female culex pipiens quinquefasciatus exposed to blood meals containing 6.8 logs plaque-forming units/ml of west nile virus (wnv) were studied by fluorescent differential display. twenty-six different cdnas exhibited reproducible differences after feeding on infected blood. of these, 21 cdnas showed an increase in expression, and 5 showed a decrease in expression as a result of wnv presence in the blood meal. genbank database searches showed that o ... | 2009 | 19635880 |
| environmental and biological factors influencing culex pipiens quinquefasciatus say (diptera: culicidae) vector competence for saint louis encephalitis virus. | complex interactions between environmental and biological factors influence the susceptibility of culex pipiens quinquefasciatus to st. louis encephalitis virus and could affect the epidemiology of virus transmission. similar interactions could have epidemiologic implications for other vector-virus systems. we conducted an experiment to examine four such factors in combination: mosquito age, extrinsic incubation temperature (eit), virus dose, and colony. the proportion of mosquitoes with body in ... | 2009 | 19635881 |
| patterned rhodopsin expression in r7 photoreceptors of mosquito retina: implications for species-specific behavior. | visual perception of the environment plays an important role in many mosquito behaviors. characterization of the cellular and molecular components of mosquito vision will provide a basis for understanding these behaviors. a unique feature of the r7 photoreceptors in aedes aegypti and anopheles gambiae is the extreme apical projection of their rhabdomeric membrane. we show here that the compound eye of both mosquitoes is divided into specific regions based on nonoverlapping expression of specific ... | 2009 | 19637310 |
| [effect of water quality in mosquito breeding sites on the pathogenicity and infectivity of zoospores from the fungus leptolegnia chapmanii (straminipila: peronosporomycetes)]. | the fungus leptolegnia chapmanii is highly pathogenic to mosquito larvae in argentina. we studied if physical and chemical characteristics of the water from mosquito breeding sites affect pathogenicity, and the infectivity of zoospores of l. chapmanii. water samples were taken from pools filled by rains, urban ditches with domestic waste water, pools filled by overflow from río de la plata, and flower vases from the cemetery of la plata city. sub-samples of water were analyzed for physical and c ... | 2009 | 19637714 |
| major variations in malaria exposure of travellers in rural areas: an entomological cohort study in western côte d'ivoire. | malaria remains a major threat, to both travellers and military personnel deployed to endemic areas. the recommendations for travellers given by the world health organization is based on the incidence of malaria in an area and do not take the degree of exposure into account. the aim of this article is to evaluate the exposure of travellers by entomologic methods, which are the commonly used measures of the intensity of malaria transmission. | 2009 | 19638219 |
| acyl-coa dehydrogenases: dynamic history of protein family evolution. | the acyl-coa dehydrogenases (acads) are enzymes that catalyze the alpha,beta-dehydrogenation of acyl-coa esters in fatty acid and amino acid catabolism. eleven acads are now recognized in the sequenced human genome, and several homologs have been reported from bacteria, fungi, plants, and nematodes. we performed a systematic comparative genomic study, integrating homology searches with methods of phylogenetic reconstruction, to investigate the evolutionary history of this family. sequence analys ... | 2009 | 19639238 |
| in silico evidence for the species-specific conservation of mosquito retroposons: implications as a molecular biomarker. | mosquitoes are the transmissive vectors for several infectious pathogens that affect man. however, the control of mosquitoes through insecticide and pesticide spraying has proved difficult in the past. we hypothesized that, by virtue of their reported vertical inheritance among mosquitoes, group ii introns - a class of small coding ribonucleic acids (scrnas) - may form a potential species-specific biomarker. structurally, introns are a six-moiety complex. depending on the function of the protein ... | 2009 | 19640272 |
| fibrin formation and lysis studies in dengue virus infection. | dengue virus is a mosquito-borne human viral pathogen that has recently become a major public health concern particularly in tropical and subtropical countries, predominantly in urban and periurban areas. plasma from five patients infected by the virus was selected since they have in different degrees prolonged thrombin times: +2.1, +3.4, +5.7, +7.1 and +18.5 s, like a transitory acquired dysfibrinogenemia. the serotype could be determined in only two patients, being den-1 and den-3. the fibrino ... | 2009 | 19644359 |
| dihydronepetalactones deter feeding activity by mosquitoes, stable flies, and deer ticks. | the essential oil of catmint, nepeta cataria l., contains nepetalactones, that, on hydrogenation, yield the corresponding dihydronepetalactone (dhn) diastereomers. the dhn diastereomer (4r,4ar,7s,7as)-4,7-dimethylhexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyran-1(3h)-one, dhn 1) was evaluated as mosquito repellent, as was the mixture of diastereomers {mostly (4s,4ar,7s,7ar)-4,7-dimethylhexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyran-1(3h)-one, dhn 2} present after hydrogenation of catmint oil itself. the repellency of these materials t ... | 2009 | 19645285 |
| aedes aegypti densonucleosis virus amplifies, spreads, and reduces host populations in laboratory cage studies. | aedes densonucleosis virus (family parcoviridae, genus brevidensovirus, aednv) is a mosquito pathogen that increases aedes aegypti larval mortality and reduces adult life span. we conducted three laboratory population cage trials, each lasting 16-25 wk. we tested two broad hypotheses. first, ae. aegypti raised in containers seeded with 10(8) aednv genome equivalents/ml (geq/ ml), a concentration feasible for field application, increase aednv to concentrations that cause significant adult and lar ... | 2009 | 19645297 |
| genomic sequence and phylogenetic analysis of culex flavivirus, an insect-specific flavivirus, isolated from culex pipiens (diptera: culicidae) in iowa. | adult mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) were collected in 2007 and tested for specific viruses, including west nile virus, as part of the ongoing arbovirus surveillance efforts in the state of iowa. a subset of these mosquitoes (6,061 individuals in 340 pools) was further tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) using flavivirus universal primers. of the 211 pools of culex pipiens (l.) tested, 50 were positive. one of 51 pools of culex tarsalis coquillet was also positive ... | 2009 | 19645300 |
| biolarvicidal activity of extracellular metabolites of the keratinophilic fungus trichophyton mentagrophytes against larvae of aedes aegypti - a major vector for chikungunya and dengue. | the larvicidal activity of extracellular metabolites of keratinophilic fungus trichophyton mentagrophytes against aedes aegypti larvae was determined. t. mentagrophytes was isolated from soil by the feather baiting technique. culture filtrates (10-100 microl/ml) were found to be entomotoxic to 3rd instars larvae of a. aegypti (l3), lc(50) and lc(90) being 110 +/- 11.5 and 200 +/- 20.7 microl/ml, respectively, after 2 d. extracellular metabolites are proteinaceous in nature and more specific to c ... | 2009 | 19649738 |
| functional characterization of a salivary apyrase from the sand fly, phlebotomus duboscqi, a vector of leishmania major. | two transcripts coding for proteins homologous to apyrases were identified by massive sequencing of a phlebotomus (p.) duboscqi salivary gland cdna library. the sequence analysis revealed that the amino acids important for enzymatic activity including nucleotidase activity and the binding of calcium and nucleotides were well conserved in these molecules. a recombinant p. duboscqi salivary apyrase was expressed in escherichia coli and purified. the resulting protein efficiently hydrolyzed adp and ... | 2009 | 19651132 |
| improved microwave-mediated synthesis of 3-(3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)propionic acids and their larvicidal and fungal growth inhibitory properties. | the synthesis of 3-(3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)propionic acids from arylamidoximes and succinic anhydride under focused microwave irradiation conditions is described. the new synthetic method furnished the desired products in 2-3 min and good yields. furthermore, the previously complicated purification procedure has been simplified in a manner which is quick, eco-friendly and cost-effective. larvicidal bioassay and fungal growth inhibitory tests were performed using several 3-(3-aryl-1,2,4-oxad ... | 2009 | 19652406 |
| dengue 1 diversity and microevolution, french polynesia 2001-2006: connection with epidemiology and clinics. | dengue fever (df) is an emerging infectious disease in the tropics and subtropics. determinants of df epidemiology and factors involved in severe cases-dengue haemorrhagic fever (dhf) and dengue shock syndrome (dss)-remain imperfectly characterized. since 2000, serotype 1 (denv-1) has predominated in the south pacific. the aim of this study was (i) to determine the origin and (ii) to study the evolutionary relationships of denv-1 viruses that have circulated in french polynesia (fp) from the sev ... | 2009 | 19652703 |
| characterization of spatial repellent, contact irritant, and toxicant chemical actions of standard vector control compounds. | a previously described modular high-throughput screening system was used to characterize the spatial repellent, contact irritant, and toxicant chemical actions of 14 compounds historically used or under investigation for vector control. the response of f1-f4 aedes aegypti (thailand strain) to various concentrations of 4 organochlorines (chlordane, ddt, dieldrin, methoxychlor); 4 pyrethroids (alphacypermethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, permethrin); 3 organophosphates (chlorpyrophos methyl, fen ... | 2009 | 19653497 |
| laboratory and field evaluation of ss220 and deet against mosquitoes in queensland, australia. | laboratory and field efficacy trials comparing deet (n,n-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) and ss220 [(is, 2's)-2-methylpiperindinyl-3-cyclohexen-1-carboxamide] against mosquitoes in queensland, australia, were conducted. in the laboratory, both compounds provided between 150 and 195 min of protection against aedes aegypti and between 18 and 80 min of protection against anopheles farauti. in laboratory tests against culex annulirostris, 20% ss220 provided 3 h of protection and 20% deet provided >6 h of ... | 2009 | 19653499 |
| new records of mosquito species for central and cuyo regions in argentina. | the geographical distributions of aedes aegypti, culex apicinus, cx. educator, cx. interfor, cx. quinquefasciatus, mansonia humeralis, ma. indubitans, and psorophora albigenu/varipes are extended, including new records for 2 provinces. | 2009 | 19653506 |
| microsatellite markers characterized in the mosquito aedes taeniorhynchus (diptera, culicidae), a disease vector and major pest on the american coast and the galápagos islands. | the black salt-marsh mosquito, aedes taeniorhynchus, plays an important role in the transmission of arboviruses such as west nile virus and other pathogens of concern for human and animal health in north and latin america. this mosquito is notably the only widely distributed mosquito species found in the galápagos islands, where its impact as disease vector has not yet been studied. the use of microsatellite markers can significantly improve our understanding of the population structure and dyna ... | 2009 | 19655436 |
| the tempo and mode of evolution of transposable elements as revealed by molecular phylogenies reconstructed from mosquito genomes. | although many mathematical models exist predicting the dynamics of transposable elements (tes), there is a lack of available empirical data to validate these models and inherent assumptions. genomes can provide a snapshot of several te families in a single organism, and these could have their demographics inferred by coalescent analysis, allowing for the testing of theories on te amplification dynamics. using the available genomes of the mosquitoes aedes aegypti and anopheles gambiae, we indicat ... | 2009 | 19656180 |
| passage of dengue virus type 4 vaccine candidates in fetal rhesus lung cells selects heparin-sensitive variants that result in loss of infectivity and immunogenicity in rhesus macaques. | three dengue virus type 4 (denv-4) vaccine candidates containing deletions in the 3' noncoding region were prepared by passage in dbs-frhl-2 (frhl) cells. unexpectedly, these vaccine candidates and parental denv-4 similarly passaged in the same cells failed to elicit either viremia or a virus-neutralizing antibody response. consensus sequence analysis revealed that each of the three viruses, as well as the parental denv-4 when passaged in frhl cells, rapidly acquired a single glu327-gly substitu ... | 2009 | 19656873 |
| isolation of a novel species of flavivirus and a new strain of culex flavivirus (flaviviridae) from a natural mosquito population in uganda. | the genus flavivirus, which contains approximately 70 single-stranded, positive-sense rna viruses, represents a unique model for studying the evolution of vector-borne disease, as it includes viruses that are mosquito-borne, tick-borne or have no known vector. both theoretical work and field studies suggest the existence of a large number of undiscovered flaviviruses. recently, the first isolation of cell fusing agent virus (cfav) was reported from a natural mosquito population in puerto rico, a ... | 2009 | 19656970 |
| molecular organization of heterochromatin in malaria mosquitoes of the anopheles maculipennis subgroup. | although heterochromatin makes up a significant portion of the malaria mosquito genome, its organization, function, and evolution are poorly understood. sibling species of the anopheles maculipennis subgroup, the european malaria mosquitoes, are characterized by striking differences in the morphology of pericentric heterochromatin; however, the molecular basis for the rapid evolutionary transformation of heterochromatin is not known. this study reports an initial survey of the molecular organiza ... | 2009 | 19664695 |
| larvicidal activity against aedes aegypti of some plants native to the west-central region of brazil. | a total of 42 ethanolic extracts from 30 different plant species, native to the pantanal and cerrado of the west-central region of brazil, have been evaluated for their larvicidal activity against aedes aegypti larvae, the vector of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fevers. among the extracts tested, that obtained from the trunk bark of ocotea velloziana was the most active. using a bioassay-directed fractionation of this extract, the active constituent was isolated and characterized as the aporphin ... | 2009 | 19664915 |
| human igg response to a salivary peptide, gsg6-p1, as a new immuno-epidemiological tool for evaluating low-level exposure to anopheles bites. | human populations exposed to low malaria transmission present particular severe risks of malaria morbidity and mortality. in addition, in a context of low-level exposure to anopheles vector, conventional entomological methods used for sampling anopheles populations are insufficiently sensitive and probably under-estimate the real risk of malaria transmission. the evaluation of antibody (ab) responses to arthropod salivary proteins constitutes a novel tool for estimating exposure level to insect ... | 2009 | 19674487 |
| integration of irradiation with cytoplasmic incompatibility to facilitate a lymphatic filariasis vector elimination approach. | abstract: | 2009 | 19682363 |
| three new hepatozoon species (apicomplexa: hepatozoidae) infecting the florida kingsnake, lampropeltis getula floridana. | the florida kingsnake, lampropeltis getula floridana, is host to 3 species of hepatozoon at the type locality, miramar, broward county, florida, and 2, possibly all 3, species at cedar key, levy county, approximately 480 km to the northwest. hepatozoon eurytopis, n. sp. was present also in diadophis punctatus and elaphe guttata in jupiter farms, palm beach county, and in thamnophis sirtalis at gainesville, alachua county. specific identity in d. punctatus was determined from gamont morphology an ... | 2010 | 19685939 |
| co-authorship network analysis: a powerful tool for strategic planning of research, development and capacity building programs on neglected diseases. | new approaches and tools were needed to support the strategic planning, implementation and management of a program launched by the brazilian government to fund research, development and capacity building on neglected tropical diseases with strong focus on the north, northeast and center-west regions of the country where these diseases are prevalent. | 2009 | 19688044 |
| characterization of chikungunya pseudotyped viruses: identification of refractory cell lines and demonstration of cellular tropism differences mediated by mutations in e1 glycoprotein. | chikungunya virus (chikv) is an alphavirus responsible for a number of large outbreaks. here we describe the efficient incorporation of chikv envelope glycoproteins into lentiviral and rhabdoviral particles. vectors pseudotyped with chikv envelope proteins efficiently transduced many cell types from different species. however, hematopoietic cell types were either partially or completely refractory. a mutation in e1 (a226v) has been linked with expansion of tropism for mosquito species, although ... | 2009 | 19692105 |
| longicorn beetle that vectors pinewood nematode carries many wolbachia genes on an autosome. | monochamus alternatus is the longicorn beetle notorious as a vector of the pinewood nematode that causes the pine wilt disease. when two populations of m. alternatus were subjected to diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (pcr) detection of four wolbachia genes, only the ftsz gene was detected from one of the populations. the wolbachia ftsz gene persisted even after larvae were fed with a tetracycline-containing diet for six weeks. the inheritance of the ftsz gene was not maternal but biparental, ... | 2009 | 19692404 |
| distribution of dengue virus types in aedes aegypti in dengue endemic districts of rajasthan, india. | dengue haemorrhagic fever (dhf) is the major cause of sustained morbidity/ mortality among human cases of dengue in dengue endemic areas of rajasthan. screening of mosquitoes collected from disease endemic settings and typing the virus could provide significant epidemiological information for prospective risk of dhf. we therefore carried out a study on different dengue virus types as occurring in field collected aedes aegypti mosquitoes from four dengue endemic districts of rajasthan, india. | 2009 | 19692746 |
| generation, annotation, and analysis of ests from midgut tissue of adult female anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. | malaria is a tropical disease caused by protozoan parasite, plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans by various species of female anopheline mosquitoes. anopheles stephensi is one such major malaria vector in urban parts of the indian subcontinent. unlike anopheles gambiae, an african malaria vector, transcriptome of a. stephensi midgut tissue is less explored. we have therefore carried out generation, annotation, and analysis of expressed sequence tags from sugar-fed and plasmodium yoelii inf ... | 2009 | 19695102 |
| field effectiveness of bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (bti) against aedes (stegomyia) aegypti (linnaeus) in ornamental ceramic containers with common aquatic plants. | this study was undertaken to determine the impact of larvaciding using a bti (bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) formulation (vectobac wg) against aedes aegypti larvae in earthen jars containing aquatic plants. aquatic plants commonly used for landscaping, pistia stratiotes (l.) (liliopsida: araceae) and sagittaria sp. (liliopsida: alismataceae) were placed inside earthen jars filled with 50 l tap water. all earthen jars were treated with bti formulation at 8g/1000l. untreated jars with and wit ... | 2009 | 19696734 |
| cloning and epitope mapping of cry11aa-binding sites in the cry11aa-receptor alkaline phosphatase from aedes aegypti. | cry11aa is the most active bacillus thuringiensis israelensis toxin against aedes aegypti larvae. ae. aegypti alkaline phosphatase (alp) was previously identified as a cry11aa receptor mediating toxicity. here we report the cloning and functional characterization of this ae. aegypti cry11aa-alp receptor. of three alp's cdna clones, the recombinant produced alp1 isoform was shown to bind cry11aa and p1.bbmv peptide phage that specifically binds the midgut alp-cry11aa receptor. an anti-alp1 antibo ... | 2009 | 19697959 |
| identification and characterization of aedes aegypti aminopeptidase n as a putative receptor of bacillus thuringiensis cry11a toxin. | bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, which is used worldwide to control aedes aegypti larvae, produces cry11aa and other toxins during sporulation. in this study, pull-down assays were performed using biotinylated cry11aa toxin and solubilized brush border membrane vesicles prepared from midguts of aedes larvae. three of the eluted proteins were identified as aminopeptidase n (apn), one of which was a 140 kda protein, named aaeapn1 (aael012778 in vectorbase). this protein localizes to the ... | 2009 | 19698787 |
| bard1 may be renamed row1 because it functions mainly as a repressor of wuschel1. | human brca1 (brreast cancer susceptible gene1) is known to involve in cell cycle control, transcriptional regulation, dna recombination, dna repair and many other processes. hbard1 (brca1-associated ring domain 1) forms heterodimer via its n-terminal conserved ring domain with brca1. in arabidopsis, two genes, at4g21070 and at1g04020, that share n-terminal ring domain and c-terminal brct (for brca1 c-terminal) domains with no substantial similarities for other motifs, have been identified. atbrc ... | 2009 | 19704708 |
| benchmarking next-generation transcriptome sequencing for functional and evolutionary genomics. | next-generation sequencing has opened the door to genomic analysis of nonmodel organisms. technologies generating long-sequence reads (200-400 bp) are increasingly used in evolutionary studies of nonmodel organisms, but the short-sequence reads (30-50 bp) that can be produced at lower cost are thought to be of limited utility for de novo sequencing applications. here, we tested this assumption by short-read sequencing the transcriptomes of the tropical disease vectors aedes aegypti and anopheles ... | 2009 | 19706727 |
| man bites mosquito: understanding the contribution of human movement to vector-borne disease dynamics. | in metropolitan areas people travel frequently and extensively but often in highly structured commuting patterns. we investigate the role of this type of human movement in the epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens such as dengue. analysis is based on a metapopulation model where mobile humans connect static mosquito subpopulations. we find that, due to frequency dependent biting, infection incidence in the human and mosquito populations is almost independent of the duration of contact. if the m ... | 2009 | 19707544 |
| neglected tropical diseases in sub-saharan africa: review of their prevalence, distribution, and disease burden. | the neglected tropical diseases (ntds) are the most common conditions affecting the poorest 500 million people living in sub-saharan africa (ssa), and together produce a burden of disease that may be equivalent to up to one-half of ssa's malaria disease burden and more than double that caused by tuberculosis. approximately 85% of the ntd disease burden results from helminth infections. hookworm infection occurs in almost half of ssa's poorest people, including 40-50 million school-aged children ... | 2009 | 19707588 |
| caenorhabditis elegans bah-1 is a duf23 protein expressed in seam cells and required for microbial biofilm binding to the cuticle. | the cuticle of caenorhabditis elegans, a complex, multi-layered extracellular matrix, is a major interface between the animal and its environment. biofilms produced by the bacterial genus yersinia attach to the cuticle of the worm, providing an assay for surface characteristics. a c. elegans gene required for biofilm attachment, bah-1, encodes a protein containing the domain of unknown function duf23. the duf23 domain is found in 61 predicted proteins in c. elegans, which can be divided into thr ... | 2009 | 19707590 |
| pupal sampling for aedes aegypti (l.) surveillance and potential stratification of dengue high-risk areas in cambodia. | to identify and describe the distribution of dengue vectors and factors affecting this distribution in cambodia, with a view to practicing rational, evidence-based dengue outbreak prevention activities. | 2009 | 19708900 |
| transfer of plasmid pbc16 between bacillus thuringiensis strains in non-susceptible larvae. | plasmid transfer was investigated in larvae of insects of the orders coleoptera, diptera, and lepidoptera. the effects of introducing bacillus thuringiensis strains in live non-susceptible larvae, and in the presence of added insecticidal toxins to kill the larvae, were examined. plasmid transfer was not detected as the strains passed through non-susceptible live larvae, but was detected when the larvae were toxin-killed. the results indicate that growth of b. thuringiensis and plasmid transfer ... | 2002 | 19709226 |
| loss of the insulator protein ctcf during nematode evolution. | the zinc finger (zf) protein ctcf (ccctc-binding factor) is highly conserved in drosophila and vertebrates where it has been shown to mediate chromatin insulation at a genomewide level. a mode of genetic regulation that involves insulators and insulator binding proteins to establish independent transcriptional units is currently not known in nematodes including caenorhabditis elegans. we therefore searched in nematodes for orthologs of proteins that are involved in chromatin insulation. | 2009 | 19712444 |
| selective and irreversible inhibitors of mosquito acetylcholinesterases for controlling malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. | new insecticides are urgently needed because resistance to current insecticides allows resurgence of disease-transmitting mosquitoes while concerns for human toxicity from current compounds are growing. we previously reported the finding of a free cysteine (cys) residue at the entrance of the active site of acetylcholinesterase (ache) in some insects but not in mammals, birds, and fish. these insects have two ache genes (ap and ao), and only ap-ache carries the cys residue. most of these insects ... | 2009 | 19714254 |
| induction of neutralization antibodies in mice by dengue-2 envelope dna vaccines. | dengue (den) viruses have become a public health problem that affects approximately 100 million people worldwide each year. prevention measures rely on vector control programs, which are inefficient. therefore, a vaccine is urgently needed. | 2009 | 19715116 |