Arthropod-borne (arbo-) viruses face evolutionary pressures that favor generalism in the range of both vertebrate hosts and arthropod vectors that they can use. That flexibility can pose a particular problem for public health, as it both enables their spread into new locations and ecosystems and adds a layer of unpredictability to their dynamics upon arrival.
Climate change models often assume similar responses to temperatures across the range of a species, but local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity can lead plants and animals to respond differently to temperature in different parts of their range. To date, there have been few tests of this assumption at the scale of continents, so it is unclear if this is a large-scale problem.
The K+/Cl− cotransporter (KCC) is the primary mechanism by which mature neurons maintain low intracellular chloride (Cl−) concentration and has been shown to be functionally coupled to the GABA-gated chloride channels (GGCC) in Drosophila central neurons.
An obligatory step in the complex life cycle of the malaria parasite is sporogony, which occurs during the oocyst stage in adult female Anopheles mosquitoes. Sporogony is metabolically demanding, and successful oocyst maturation is dependent on host lipids. In insects, lipid energy reserves are mobilized by adipokinetic hormones (AKHs).
A growing body of information on vector-borne diseases has arisen as increasing research focus has been directed towards the need for anticipating risk, optimizing surveillance, and understanding the fundamental biology of vector-borne diseases to direct control and mitigation efforts. The scope and scale of this information, in the form of data, comprising database efforts, data storage, and serving approaches, means that it is distributed across many formats and data types.
UF researchers use molecular tools to detect dengue virus and West Nile virus in southeastern Florida and inform mosquito control in real time.
A new study determines which household-level characteristics influence the presence of disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Huaquillas, Ecuador.
UF researchers find first known instance of Yunnan orbivirus in North America from postmortem tests on tissues from a farmed white-tailed deer in Florida.
Feed mosquitoes more nitrogen when they’re young, and the adults are less likely to transmit the Zika virus, University of Florida scientists say. Now, researchers want to know why, and they’re determined to discover how the findings can help further their research into the dangerous virus.
New research by EPI and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences medical geographers offers Ecuadorian health officials a sneak preview of where mosquito-borne diseases may shift into the Andean mountain foothills as our planet’s climate warms into the midcentury.
