IR68a, the last piece to a 'triad' of neurons
Department
Biological Sciences
Faculty Advisor
Matthew DeGennaro
Start Date
30-9-2020 10:00 AM
End Date
30-9-2020 11:00 AM
Abstract
Tropical and subtropical environments are conducive for the establishment of A. aegypti mosquitoes. As precipitation increases, this vector’s populations, and the arboviral disease epidemics they transmit increase as well. The humidity, correlated with high rainfall and temperature, that is available in these environments has been observed to affect multiple mosquito traits such as daily oviposition pattern, hatching rate and sex proportion, and production of eggs. Although mosquitoes are small and agile, due to the nature of their size, they also tend to dessicate quickly. Due to this, for a handful of centuries, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been evolving better strategies to assess the atmosphere around them, particularly humidity. Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), IR68a, have been found to work together in a triad to process these environmental cues, in Drosophila melanogaster. Using CRISPR/CAS9 this project plans to elucidate the role of IR68a in the thermosensing and hygrosensing behavior of A. aegypti mosquitoes. Loss of or reduction in the capabilities to process these environmental cues would suggest that IR68a has a role in humidity and temperature sensing in A. aegypti.
File Type
Event
IR68a, the last piece to a 'triad' of neurons
Tropical and subtropical environments are conducive for the establishment of A. aegypti mosquitoes. As precipitation increases, this vector’s populations, and the arboviral disease epidemics they transmit increase as well. The humidity, correlated with high rainfall and temperature, that is available in these environments has been observed to affect multiple mosquito traits such as daily oviposition pattern, hatching rate and sex proportion, and production of eggs. Although mosquitoes are small and agile, due to the nature of their size, they also tend to dessicate quickly. Due to this, for a handful of centuries, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been evolving better strategies to assess the atmosphere around them, particularly humidity. Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), IR68a, have been found to work together in a triad to process these environmental cues, in Drosophila melanogaster. Using CRISPR/CAS9 this project plans to elucidate the role of IR68a in the thermosensing and hygrosensing behavior of A. aegypti mosquitoes. Loss of or reduction in the capabilities to process these environmental cues would suggest that IR68a has a role in humidity and temperature sensing in A. aegypti.