All Posts

Aedes aegypti is the most important mosquito vector of arboviruses worldwide, originating on islands of the southwest Indian Ocean before spreading to Africa and, more recently, the Americas and Asia. Migration out of Africa was enabled by the evolution of behaviors that increased human-vector contact, and as Ae. aegypti became more domesticated, arboviral competence may have also increased. Here we investigate variation in vector competence between present-day populations of Ae. aegypti from Florida (USA) and Tanzania (East Africa) and use a genomics approach to examine genetic differentiation potentially underlying traits important for arbovirus transmission.

Florida is one of the 49 of 50 U.S. states with local rabies transmission. Rabies is an acute viral infection that is transmitted to humans by a bite or by exposure of broken skin to an infected animal's saliva. Human cases of rabies in the U.S. is rare. Recently, more cases of human rabies have been linked to bats and raccoons than the previous reservoir, dogs.

Candidozyma auris, first recognized in 2009, has emerged as a pathogen of major global concern, particularly in association with health care–associated infections in long-term care facilities. In a study of infected and colonized patients conducted between 1/17/2023 and 11/30/2023 at our medical center in North-Central Florida, whole-genome sequence data were obtained for 43 C. auris isolates from 36 patients.

Methamphetamine (METH) use is associated with an elevated risk of skin and soft tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), yet its direct effects on MRSA pathogenesis remain poorly characterized. Using a BALB/c murine subcutaneous infection model, we demonstrate that METH significantly increases abscess area and bacterial burden compared to untreated controls.

Sub-Saharan Africa bears a high burden of both malaria in pregnancy and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal and perinatal deaths. Increasing evidence suggests that infection with Plasmodium falciparum, which causes placental malaria, is associated with increased preeclampsia risk. Here we discuss how epidemiologic and biological evidence link malaria to preeclampsia by examining shared pathways, including placental inflammation and vascular disruptions, which culminate in the unifying phenomenon of placental dysfunction in both syndromes.

Multiplex PCR-based enrichment is widely used in viral genome sequencing and pathogen surveillance. However, designing large sets of primers that maximize genome coverage while minimizing primer–primer interactions remains a major computational challenge. Existing methods such as SADDLE and Olivar use heuristics to optimize a Badness score for primer dimers but lack theoretical guarantees on solution quality.

Trueperella pyogenes is a gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic bacterium known to cause infections in both domestic and wild animals, including white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus). However, limited studies have focused on its impact on farmed WTD. In this study, we aimed to explore the demographic features, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles, and virulence factors of T. pyogenes isolated from farmed WTD in Florida.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) have transformed cancer therapy, yet response rates remain limited across solid tumors. Modulation of the gut microbiome has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance immunotherapy efficacy. R-5780 is an engineered Lactococcus lactis strain expressing the peptidoglycan hydrolase Secreted Antigen A (SagA), which generates muramyl dipeptide (MDP), a natural ligand of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) receptor involved in innate immune activation and antigen-presenting cell maturation. Therapeutic potential of R-5780 was assessed in vivo murine models.

PDF Tools Share on Abstract Phloem-feeding insects, including the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), navigate one of the most osmotically challenging diets in nature, the sugar-rich phloem sap. Maintaining osmotic homeostasis is critical for survival, development, and vector competence, particularly in transmitting ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, the causal agent of citrus greening disease or huanglongbing (HLB). This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physiological, biochemical, and behavioral adaptations that enable D. citri to cope with extreme osmotic pressures.

This article reviews data encompassing the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of RSVpreF (Abrysvo®), a subunit vaccine approved to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in adults aged ≥60 years, infants via maternal transfer of antibodies, and adults aged 18 to 59 at increased risk of severe disease, including immunocompromised populations.