Immune function is likely to be a critical determinant of an organism's fitness, yet most
natural animal and plant populations exhibit tremendous genetic variation for immune traits …

The time it takes for malaria parasites to develop within a mosquito, and become
transmissible, is known as the extrinsic incubation period, or EIP. EIP is a key parameter …

Malaria parasite transmission depends on the successful transition of Plasmodium through
discrete developmental stages in the lumen of the mosquito midgut. Like the human …

Malaria parasites must complete a complex developmental cycle in an Anopheles mosquito
vector before transmission to a vertebrate host. Sexual development of the parasite in the …

Melanization plays important roles in diverse physiological processes in insects including
wound healing, tanning of the cuticle and immunity. Upon infection, pattern recognition …

The multifaceted innate immune system of insects is capable of fighting infection by a variety
of pathogens including those causing human malaria. Malaria transmission by the …

Background Several observations support the hypothesis that vector-driven selection plays
an important role in shaping dengue virus (DENV) genetic diversity. Clustering of DENV …

In much of Africa, the mosquito Anopheles gambiae is the major vector of human malaria, a
devastating infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. Vector and parasite …

Mosquito immunity studies have focused mainly on characterizing immune effector
mechanisms elicited against parasites, bacteria and more recently, viruses. However, those …

We surveyed an Anopheles gambiae population in a West African malaria transmission
zone for naturally occurring genetic loci that control mosquito infection with the human …