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UC Mosquito Research Program Targets West Nile Virus

RIVERSIDE—Scientists seeking grants funded by the statewide University of California Mosquito Research Program will discuss their research at the annual Grants Proposal Presentation Day, set Thursday, July 19 in the UC Riverside Extension Conference Center, 1200 University Ave.

Program director and UC Davis medical entomologist Gregory Lanzaro will offer introductory remarks at 9 a.m. in Conference Room E. Speakers’ presentations are scheduled from 9:15 to noon, and from 1:45 to approximately 4:30 p.m.

Lanzaro said much of the research centers around Culex mosquitoes and the transmission and control of West Nile virus. Among the other topics are nematodes in mosquitoes; methoprene resistance in mosquitoes; and the transmission of the Chikungunya virus, spread by mosquito bites from Aedes aegypti.

The funding pool totals approximately $300,000. Recipients will be announced in early summer.

The agenda:

• 9 a.m.
  Introductory remarks by Gregory Lanzaro, director
• 9: 15 a.m.
  “High Frequency Culex Genetic Transformation,” by Peter Atkinson, UC Riverside Department of Entomology
• 9:30 a.m.
  “Efficacy of a Native Biological Agent Against West Nile Vectors Inhabiting Constructed Treatment Wetlands," William Walton, UC Riverside Department of Entomology
• 9:45 a.m.
  “Biopesticidal Action of RH-2485  and the Formulations INTREPID, MACH-2, and CONFIRM on Culex Vectors of West Nile Virus Transmission,” Nancy Beckage, UC Riverside Department of Entomology
• 10 a.m.
  “Attractants for Culex pipiens Complex Mosquitoes,”  Ring Cardé/Sarah Butler , UC Riverside Department of Entomology
• 10:15 a.m.
  “West Nile Virus Vector Control and Treatment: Pesticide Science,” Robert Krieger, UC Riverside Department of Entomology
• 10:30 a.m.
  “Memithid Nematodes in Mosquito,” Robert Platzer, UC Riverside Department of Nematology
• 10:45 a.m.
  "Efficacy of Fungal Pathogens as Biological Controls of Adult Culex Mosquitoes," Nancy Beckage, UC Riverside
• 11 a.m.
  “Investigating Population Structure of Culex pipiens sensu latoin California,” Anthony Cornel, UC Davis Department of Entomology
• 11:15 a.m
  "Development of an Effective Unisex Blend for Culex Mosquitoes," Walter Leal/Zainulabeuddin Syed, UC Davis Department of Entomology
• Noon: Lunch until 1:45 a.m.
• 2 p.m.
  “Blood Feeding Patterns of Culex Vectors of West Nile Virus in California,” William Reisen, UC Davis Center for Vectorborne Disease Research and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
• 2:15 p.m.
  “Mosquito Mitochrondria: an Untapped Resource for the Development of Aging Biomarkers,” Shirley Luckhart, UC Davis School of Medicine
• 2:30 p.m.
  “Susceptibility of California Mosquitoes for Enzootic and Epizootic Transmission of Chikungunya Virus,” Aaron Brault, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
• 2:45 p.m.
  “Corvid Roosts Affect the Risks of Urban West Nile Virus Transmission in California,” Aaron Brault, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
• 3 p.m.
  “Identification of Manure-Derived Attractants for Culex Mosquitoes,” Walter Leal/Yuko Ishida, UC Davis Department of Entomology
• 3:15 p.m.
  “Minimizing Culex pipiens Populations Using Wastewater Treatment Wetlands and Maintaining Artificially Dense Populations of Gambusi affinix for Larval Control,” Mark Grismer/Robert Collison, UC Davis Land, Air and Water Resources
• 3:30 p.m.
  "Development of a High Throughput Assay for Carboxylesterase-and GST-mediated Pyrethroid Resistance in Culex pipiens sensu lato, Bruce Hammock/George Kamita, UC Davis Department of Entomology
• 3:45 p.m.
  Development of a Rapid Assay for Methoprene Resistance in Mosquito," Bruce Hammock/George Kamita, UC Davis Department of Entomology

Shirley Luckhart of the UC Davis School of Medicine discusses her research with Robert Washino, emeritus professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.

The grants review committee, co-chaired by Timothy Paine, entomology professor at UC Riverside, and Steve Mulligan, manager of Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District, Selma, will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, July 20 in Conference Suite 6 to consider funding recommendations. The committee  includes Robert Washino, emeritus professor and former chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology; Art Cowell, Lake County Vector Control District; Brad Mullens, UC Riverside Department of Entomology; Steven Shultz, Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District; Stacy Bearden, San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District; Steven Su, West Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District; and Lanzaro. 

Ring Cardé (left), UC Riverside Department of Entomology, discusses his research with Gregory Lanzaro. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Washino chairs the UC MRP’s Public Advisory Committee. In addition to Mulligan, Paine and Mullens, members are State Sen. Jeff Denham, 12th Senate District, Sacramento; Vicki Kramer, chief of Vector-borne Disease Section, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento; Michael Parrella, associate dean of agricultural sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Dennis Wilson, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

West Nile virus (WNV) is transmitted to humans and animals through the bite of an infected mosquito. Female mosquitoes require a blood meal to develop their eggs. First isolated in 1937 in the West Nile District of Uganda, WNV spread to New York in 1999 and reached California in 2002.

Last year California recorded 276 human WNV infections and seven deaths within 54 counties reporting WNV activity. Fifty-eight horses tested positive for WNV, and 24 died or were euthanized.

The UC Mosquito Research Program, headquartered at 396 Briggs Hall, UC Davis, is a statewide program established in 1972 by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The statewide programs focus on research and extension in solving priority problems in the management of California agriculture, natural resources, and human development. More information on Grants Proposal Presentation Day is available from program assistant Nancy Dullum at (530) 752-6983 or nadullum[at]ucdavis.edu.