An -associated fungus increases susceptibility to dengue virus by modulating gut trypsin activity.

Transmission of dengue virus (DENV) requires successful completion of the infection cycle in the vector, which is initiated in the midgut tissue after ingestion of an infectious blood meal. While certain midgut-associated bacteria influence virus infection, little is known about the midgut-associated fungi (mycobiota), and how its members might influence susceptibility to DENV infection. We show that a () fungus, isolated from field-caught render the mosquito more permissive to DENV infection.

Efficacy of nonselective optogenetic control of the medial septum over hippocampal oscillations: the influence of speed and implications for cognitive enhancement.

Optogenetics holds great promise for both the dissection of neural circuits and the evaluation of theories centered on the temporal organizing properties of oscillations that underpin cognition. To date, no studies have examined the efficacy of optogenetic stimulation for altering hippocampal oscillations in freely moving wild-type rats, or how these alterations would affect performance on behavioral tasks. Here, we used an AAV virus to express ChR2 in the medial septum (MS) of wild-type rats, and optically stimulated septal neurons at 6 Hz and 30 Hz.

A natural Anopheles-associated Penicillium chrysogenum enhances mosquito susceptibility to Plasmodium infection.

Whereas studies have extensively examined the ability of bacteria to influence Plasmodium infection in the mosquito, the tripartite interactions between non-entomopathogenic fungi, mosquitoes, and Plasmodium parasites remain largely uncharacterized. Here we report the isolation of a common mosquito-associated ascomycete fungus, Penicillium chrysogenum, from the midgut of field-caught Anopheles mosquitoes. Although the presence of Pe.

Cytoplasmic actin is an extracellular insect immune factor which is secreted upon immune challenge and mediates phagocytosis and direct killing of bacteria, and is a Plasmodium Antagonist.

Actin is a highly versatile, abundant, and conserved protein, with functions in a variety of intracellular processes. Here, we describe a novel role for insect cytoplasmic actin as an extracellular pathogen recognition factor that mediates antibacterial defense. Insect actins are secreted from cells upon immune challenge through an exosome-independent pathway.

Exploring Anopheles gut bacteria for Plasmodium blocking activity.

Malaria parasite transmission requires the successful development of Plasmodium gametocytes into flagellated microgametes upon mosquito blood ingestion, and the subsequent fertilization of microgametes and macrogametes for the development of motile zygotes, called ookinetes, which invade and transverse the Anopheles vector mosquito midgut at around 18-36 h after blood ingestion. Within the mosquito midgut, the malaria parasite has to withstand the mosquito's innate immune response and the detrimental effect of its commensal bacterial flora. We have assessed the midgut colonization capacity of five gut bacterial isolates from field-derived, and two from laboratory colony, mosquitoes and their effect on Plasmodium development in vivo and in vitro, along with their impact on mosquito survival.

Bacteria- and IMD pathway-independent immune defenses against Plasmodium falciparum in Anopheles gambiae.

The mosquito Anopheles gambiae uses its innate immune system to control bacterial and Plasmodium infection of its midgut tissue. The activation of potent IMD pathway-mediated anti-Plasmodium falciparum defenses is dependent on the presence of the midgut microbiota, which activate this defense system upon parasite infection through a peptidoglycan recognition protein, PGRPLC. We employed transcriptomic and reverse genetic analyses to compare the P.

Avian hemosporidian parasites from northern California oak woodland and chaparral habitats.

During spring-summer 2003-2004, the avian community was surveyed for hemosporidian parasites in an oak (Quercus spp.) and madrone (Arbutus spp.) woodland bordering grassland and chaparral habitats at a site in northern California, a geographic location and in habitat types not previously sampled for these parasites.