Center for Disease Vector Research

Mission

Several CDVR labs are exploring the underlying biological interactions that are enabling the rapid spread of insect-borne disease, such as the spread of Pierce’s Disease though California by the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter. In human health, many insect-vectored diseases, such as malaria and dengue, are resurgent and continue to cause considerable human mortality and morbidity in many developing countries and threaten developed countries in equatorial, sub-equatorial and temperate climates.

CDVR faculty have already collaborated on the use of genomics in understanding the DNA sequences of three mosquito species (Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens quinquefaciatus), the genomic sequence of pathogenic bacteria transmitted by plant pests, as well as demonstrating the involvement of RNA interference in insect immunity.

Within the United States the recent spread of the West Nile virus demonstrates how rapidly insect-vectored disease can move through large geographic regions despite the presence of sophisticated and well-established vector control policies. The effect of climate change on the distribution of both disease vectors and the pathogens they transmit is unknown but demands investigation since the impact of an expanded disease distribution could have significant impacts on agriculture in California and the United States, as well as on human health and welfare in countries in which the current disease burden is small.

Some focus areas of CDVR members are:

• Dissecting the molecular and biochemical mechanism of egg development in mosquitoes.
• Dissecting the molecular and biochemical basis of immunity in mosquitoes.
• Understanding the molecular basis of aphid and nematode resistance in plants.
• Characterizing and exploiting the transcriptional profile of Plasmodium falciparum duing development in the vertebrate host.
• Developing and implementing new genetic technologies, including gene silencing approaches using RNAi, in mosquitoes and agricultural pests.
• Developing genetic strategies to prevent the spread of human and plant pathogens by insects.
• Developing and implementing gene drive systems in insects.
• Understanding the molecular and physiological basis of odor reception in mosquitoes and other pest insects.
• Understanding the genetic and molecular relationships between transposons and their insect hosts.
• Developing and implementing superior Bt-based insecticides for mosquito control.
• Improving wetland management for mosquitoes.
• Using genomics based approaches to understand and control the transmisson of Xylella by insects.
• Increasing the effectiveness of bait and trap technology for pest insects.
• Using nanotechnology to address chronic questions in vector biology.
• Harnessing genomics to understand insect biology, with current focus on the mosquito, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, a vector of West Nile virus and filariasis.
• Understanding the basis of the interaction between the endosymbiont Wolbachia and its insect host.