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Of birds and humans
Attractant that May Facilitate Host Shifts in Culex Mosquitoes
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS
CLICK HERE-Nonanal: A Mosquito Attractant from Birds and Humans

In This Issue: PNAS November 3, 2009
Compound may attract West Nile virus-harboring mosquitoes



Featured in SCIENCE
To Mosquitoes, We Smell Like Bird


Recommeded by Faculty of 1000
MUST READ Factor 6.0



Highlights from the Media:

Los Angeles Times
The Sacramento Bee
UC Newsroom: Dominant odor that lures mosquitoes identified
See Wikipedia
The Davis Enterpise
The Daily Democrat
DiscoveryNews
Discovery CHANNEL
ScienceDaily
Selected Science News
U.S.News & World Report
National Science Foundation: Where Discoveries Begin


NPR-Insight: Listen to Interview with Jeffrey Callison

Leal Lab Members Before a Seminar to Discuss the Latest PNAS Paper
Walter Leal
Top row: Allen Hoang and Nicholas (Nick) Nguyen (Undergrad students), and Wei Xu (AgCHEM Grad Student)
Middle row: Diogo Vidal (SUSPROT), Walter Leal (PI), Zain Syed, Julien Pelletier (Postdoctoral Scholars), and Gordon Walker (BMB Grad Student)
Front row: Niki Sohrabpour, Afsoon Badiei (Undergrad student), and Aline Guildolin (SUSPROT)
Sadaf Mehdizadeh (absent)


Culex Mosquitoes and Malaria

Kija Ng'habi
Kija Ng'habi,
a Scholar from Tanzania,
discusses how malaria-preventing bed net programs could be improved

NEW!! Prospecting the Genome of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus
for Olfactory Proteins


Published in the Public Library of Sciences-PLoS ONE:
Genome Analysis and Expression Patterns of Odorant-Binding Proteins from the Southern House Mosquito

JUST RELEASED!! Paving the way for Reverse Chemical Ecology


Published in the Public Library of Sciences-PLoS ONE:
Olfactory Proteins Mediating Chemical Communication in the Navel Orangeworm Moth, Amyelois transitella



Walter Leal elected Fellow of the Entomological Society of America (ESA)

Walter Leal
Kathy Keatley Garvey wrote:
Chemical Ecologist Selected as an ESA Fellow

See articles:
in the Davis Enterprise
in California Farmer
in ComunidadeNews (in Portuguese)


SUSPROT Students are Ag Ambassadors

Aline & Diogo
See articles:
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
in The Daily Democrat
in ComunidadeNews (in Portuguese)


50th Birthday of Pheromones
See here a silkworm male responding to synthetic bombykol
in a Y-olfactometer


This movie, courtesy of Dr. Karl-Ernst Kaissling (Max Planck Institute),
shows a silkworm male responding to a calling female
and to female gland exudate (natural pheromone).
It is an excellent demonstration for Elementary School Teachers

A low resolution version for low-speed connections is here


Groundbreaking Research!!!


Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS
How the insect repellent DEET works


Highlights from the Media:
The New York Times
ScienceDaily
WebMD
UC Davis News Service: DEET Research Takes Center Stage
BBC World News: Interview with Claudia Hammond
Learn more about DEET from Wikipedia


Culex Mosquitoes Oviposition Attractants


Published in the Public Library of Sciences-PLoS ONE:
Odorless lure for trapping gravid females

See Article in
ScienceDaily

  • See Spotlight from the Brazilian Network Rede Globo in the program
    Bom Dia Brasil

  • Pheromone-Degrading Enzyme from the Japanese Beetle


    Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:
    Chiral Discrimination of the Sex Pheromone and a Behavioral Antagonist

    See Press Release and Video Interview by
    The National Science Foundation
    NSF Interview

    Complete News
    By Kathy K. Garvey


    Pheromone Reception in Fruit Flies


    Chemosensory protein from the red imported fire ant (RIFA)


    Elementary School Student Gets Startling Results


    Lab Members

    Current members of the lab (as of December, 2008): From Left, Ana Claudia do Amaral Melo-Scholar on sabbatical leave, Derrick Stacy-ABI, Wei Xu-AgCHEM Graduate Student, Scott McCluen-Junior Scientist, Gabriel-6th Grader on a Science Project, Walter S. Leal-PI, Charles Assare-Undergraduate Student, Ruben Palma-Graduate Student-CHILE, Zain Syed-Postdoctoral Scholar, Zhao Liu-Graduate Student-CHINA, and Julien Pelletier-Postdoctoral Scholar

    Ben Mensah
    Dr. Ben Mensah
    Fulbright Visiting Scholar

    The Most Entomology-Oriented New Year Card We Received This Year
    (From Professor Sigeru Matsuyama-Tsukuba University, Japan)

    Shigeru's New Year Card

    Recent Awards

    ESA Award

    Recent Awards


  • Zain Syed Named Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar for Excellence in Research UC Davis-Graduate Studies

  • Walter Leal Receives the Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology Entomological Society of America

  • Walter Leal Awarded Medal of Science from Brazilian Congress of Entomology
    See article in ComunidadeNews: Jornal da Comunidade Brasileira

    See article by Kathy K. Garvey

  • Walter Leal Received the International Society of Chemical Ecology's Silverstein-Simeone Lecture Award

  • Zain Syed Received UC Davis Citation for Excellence

  • Graduate Student Wei Xu Wins Two Awards at ESA Annual Meeting in Reno

  • Walter Leal Delivered Scudder Lecture in Entomology at the University of British Columbia

  • Walter Leal Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

    Insect Olfaction

    Insects perceive the world through small molecules which carry information (signature) for the recognition of potential mates, preys, and specific features of the environment, such as food sources, oviposition sites, etc. The information-carrying chemical compounds are referred to as semiochemicals (see insect chemical communication), a generic term encompassing chemicals involved in intraspecific communications (pheromones) and interspecific interactions, such as kairomones (that give advantage to the receiver), and allomones (which benefit the sender). The entire olfactory process encompasses the perception of semiochemicals by a specialized apparatus in the periphery (normally the insect antennae; maxillary palpi in some cases), processing of signals in the antennal lobe, integration of these signals with other stimulus modalities in the protocerebrum, with ultimate translation into behavior. Because the chemical signals (semiochemicals) are normally produced in minute amounts and diluted in the environment with a complex mixture of chemical compounds derived from a myriad of sources, the olfactory system in insects evolved as a remarkably selective and sensitive system, which approaches the theoretical limit for a detector. For example, it has been estimated that the male silkworm moth is able to distinguish within one second 170 nerve impulses generated by the female silkworm moth's sex pheromone from 1,700 spontaneous nervous impulses [1], thus, operating on a remarkably low S/N ratio! In addition to sensitivity and selectivity, odor-oriented navigation in insects requires a dynamic process of signal deactivation (inactivation). While flying en route to a pheromone-emitting female (ANIMATION requires Flash), males encounter pheromone molecules as intermittent signals comprised of short bursts of high flux separated by periods during which the flux is zero. The average duration of bursts of high flux is on the order of millisecond and it decreases as the moth comes closer to the pheromone source [2]. Thus, a male moth has to detect rapidly and selectively minute amounts of pheromones buried in an "environmental mixture". Soon after the signal is detected, the pheromone detectors must be reset in a millisecond timescale so as to allow a sustained flight towards a pheromone source.

    1. Kaissling KE (1996) Peripheral mechanisms of pheromone reception in moths. Chem Senses 21: 257-268.

    2. Murlis J, Willis MA, Carde RT (2000) Spatial and temporal structures of pheromone plumes in fields and forests. Physiol Entomol 25: 211-222.

    LEAL Lab

    Current Members

    Walter S. Leal
    (Principal Investigator)
    Video still image
    My eCV is Here

    Zainulabeuddin (Zain) Syed
    (Postdoctoral Scholar)
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    Julien Pelletier
    (Postdoctoral Scholar)
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    Ana Claudia do Amaral Melo
    (Scholar on sabbatical leave)
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    Wei Xu
    (Graduate Student)
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    Zhao Liu
    (Graduate Student-CHINA)
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    Ruben Palma
    (Graduate Student-CHILE)
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    My eCV is Here

    Derrick Stacy
    (Undergraduate Student-ABI Program)
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    My eCV is Here

    Charles Assare
    (Undergraduate Student-MCB)
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    My eCV is Here

    Gabriel
    (6th Grader-School Science Project)
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    My eCV is Here

    Former Members
    Yuko Ishida
    (PostDoc)
    Ana Lia Parra
    (Graduate Student)
    Stephanie DeBorde Dickey
    (Research Assistant)
    Armenak (Armen) Margaryan
    (Senior Research Scientist)
    Melissa L. Erickson (PGR)
    Jennifer Tsuruda (PGR)
    Scott McCluen
    (Junior Scientist)
    Chris Pagan
    (Undergraduate Student)
    Allison Manko
    (Undergraduate Student)
    Brooke Pannell (Student)
    Melissa Hardstone (Student)
    Tania Morgan
    (Graduate Student)
    Catherine Richardson (Student)
    Göde Schüler (PostDoc)
    Ning Li (GradStudent)
    Vicky Chiang (Student)
    Chunpei Wang (Student)
    Carol Chen (Student)
    Helen Wong (Student)
    Chris Bahr (PostDoc)
    John Garden
    (Senior Research Associate)
    Angela Chen (PGR)
    Justin Bonetto
    (Undergraduate Student)
    Shinichi Tebayashi
    (Visiting Scientist)


    Research Activities in our Lab are Sponsored by:

    National Institute of Health-NIH
    National Science Foundation-NSF
    USDA-National Research Initiative
    Bedoukian Research Incorporation
    Almond Board of California
    California Pistachio Research Board
    Gifts from Various Donors


    25th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology
    23-27 August 2009, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

  • LINK HERE


    For ENT102-Insect Physiology Students Only

  • e-Review Integument & Molting
  • e-Review Digestion & Nutrition
  • e-Review Circulation & Respiration
  • e-Review Excretory System
  • e-Review Endocrinology & Exploitation of Endocrinology for Insect Control
  • e-Review Semiochemicals & Pheromones
  • e-Review Nervous System
  • e-Review Vision
  • e-Review Sensory System
  • e-Review Insecticide Resistance
  • e-Review Insect Flight
  • e-Review Reproduction
  • e-Review Insect Transgenesis
  • e-Review Circulation & Immunity
  • e-Review Medical Entomology & Physiology

    Address

    Walter S. Leal
    Maeda-Duffey Lab
    37 Briggs Hall
    UC Davis / Entomology see map

    Phone: +1-530-752-7755
    FAX: +1-530-752-1537
    wsleal@ucdavis.edu

    Home | Research | Links | Publications | Recent News |

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    Design was was adapted from http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/ (by namnguyen@ucdavis.edu)
    Last Updated: 1/09/09