Beyond adult models: Tribolium castaneum larval timekeeping reveals unexpected robustness and insights into circadian clock.

Circadian rhythms are self-sustained endogenous oscillations that are found in all living organisms. In insects, circadian rhythms control a wide variety of behavioral and physiological processes, including feeding, locomotion, mating, and metabolism. While the role of circadian rhythms in adult insects is well-understood, it is largely unexplored in larvae.

Prevalence and transmission potential of in population circulating in endemic coastal districts of Odisha, India.

Wolbachia, known for its reproductive manipulation capabilities in insects, are being implemented to control dengue and chikungunya. To understand Wolbachia biology and its utility as a bio-control for vector mosquito's populations, we investigated its dissemination pattern in field in collected Ae. albopictus along with its maternal transmission efficacy over generations in regions of endemic dengue (DENV) transmission.

Social communication activates the circadian gene Tctimeless in Tribolium castaneum.

Chemical communication via pheromones is an integral component in insect behavior, particularly for mate searching and reproduction. Aggregation pheromones, that attract conspecifics of both sexes, are particularly common and have been identified for hundreds of species. These pheromones are among the most ecologically selective pest suppression agents.

Implementation of molecular method in routine malaria diagnosis and entomological studies.

Background & Objectives: Molecular methods for malaria vector species and parasite identification have received great attention in recent years. Accurate and precise identification of the target species has direct medical and practical implications, such as in malaria diagnosis and vector dynamics study. Translation of molecular techniques will help in evaluation of epidemiological and entomological profile of malaria even in highly inaccessible areas where there is lack of an expert microscopist or entomologist.

Wolbachia Population in Vectors and Non-vectors: A Sustainable Approach Towards Dengue Control.

Wolbachia is gram negative obligate endosymbiont known for reproductive manipulation in the host. It is important to study the presence of natural Wolbachia in mosquitoes which can later help in understanding the effect of transfected strain on indigenous strain. With this view, the present study is undertaken to focus on the prevalence, diversity, infection frequencies, phylogeny and density of indigenous Wolbachia strains in wild mosquito species of Odisha.

Cyclic lipopeptide biosurfactant from exhibits multifarious activity.

strain CH had been previously shown to produce a biosurfactant. In this study, chemical structure of the purified biosurfactant was determined by using high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy as a 10 amino acid cyclic lipopeptide (CL). The cyclic lipopeptide was found to be active against larvae with a LC of 110 µg/ml in 2 days.

Insecticide susceptibility status of invasive Aedes albopictus across dengue endemic districts of Odisha, India.

Background: Aedes albopictus is currently the most invasive mosquito species in the world. Keeping in view the wide emergence of insecticide resistance, it is imperative to focus on the current susceptibility status for various insecticides in Ae. albopictus.

Development, standardization and validation of molecular techniques for malaria vector species identification, trophic preferences, and detection of .

Background & Objectives: Knowledge on prevalence of malaria vector species of a certain area provides important information for implementation of appropriate control strategies. The present study describes a rapid method for screening of major Anopheline vector species and at the same time detection of Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite infection and blood meal preferences/trophic preferences.

Methods: The study was carried from February 2012 to March 2013 in three seasons, i.

Wolbachia: A biological control strategy against arboviral diseases.

Vector-borne diseases particularly those transmitted by mosquitoes like Dengue are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in human population. There are no effective vaccines or treatment against dengue fever till date and the control methods are limited. So, new approaches are urgently in need to reverse these trends.

A shift in resting habitat and feeding behavior of Anopheles fluviatilis sibling species in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, India.

Background: Anopheles fluviatilis exists as a complex of sibling species S, T, U and V exhibiting distinct variations. Sibling species S is considered as the main vector and anthropogenic whereas T, U and V are zoophagic non-vectors. This study was performed in a forested village of Keonjhar district, Odisha to identify the status of An.