MMBR Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Beerntsen, B. T.
Right arrow Articles by Christensen, B. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Beerntsen, B. T.
Right arrow Articles by Christensen, B. M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, March 2000, p. 115-137, Vol. 64, No. 1
1092-2172/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Genetics of Mosquito Vector Competence

Brenda T. Beerntsen,1 Anthony A. James,1 and Bruce M. Christensen2,*

Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697,1 and Department of Animal Health & Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 537062

Mosquito-borne diseases are responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Efforts to control mosquito-borne diseases have been impeded, in part, by the development of drug-resistant parasites, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, and environmental concerns over the application of insecticides. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel disease control strategies that can complement or replace existing control methods. One such strategy is to generate pathogen-resistant mosquitoes from those that are susceptible. To this end, efforts have focused on isolating and characterizing genes that influence mosquito vector competence. It has been known for over 70 years that there is a genetic basis for the susceptibility of mosquitoes to parasites, but until the advent of powerful molecular biological tools and protocols, it was difficult to assess the interactions of pathogens with their host tissues within the mosquito at a molecular level. Moreover, it has been only recently that the molecular mechanisms responsible for pathogen destruction, such as melanotic encapsulation and immune peptide production, have been investigated. The molecular characterization of genes that influence vector competence is becoming routine, and with the development of the Sindbis virus transducing system, potential antipathogen genes now can be introduced into the mosquito and their effect on parasite development can be assessed in vivo. With the recent successes in the field of mosquito germ line transformation, it seems likely that the generation of a pathogen-resistant mosquito population from a susceptible population soon will become a reality.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Animal Health & Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin---Madison, Madison, WI 53706. Phone: (608) 262-3850. Fax: (608) 262-7420. E-mail: bmc{at}ahabs.wisc.edu.

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, March 2000, p. 115-137, Vol. 64, No. 1
1092-2172/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Infect. Immun. Eukaryot. Cell
Mol. Cell. Biol. J. Virol. J. Bacteriol.
ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2000 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.