Fotis C. Kafatos

SNP discovery and molecular evolution in Anopheles gambiae, with special emphasis on innate immune system (2008)

Cohuet, Anna, Krishnakumar, Sujatha, Simard, Frédéric, Morlais, Isabelle, Koutsos, Anastasios, Fontenille, Didier, ...

Abstract Background Anopheles innate immunity affects Plasmodium development and is a potential target of innovative malaria control strategies. The extent and distribution of nucleotide diversity in...

Mapping and identification of essential gene functions on the X chromosome of Drosophila (2002)

Peter, Annette, Schoettler, Petra, Werner, Meike, Beinert, Nicole, Dowe, Gordon, Burkert, Peter, ...

The Drosophila melanogaster genome consists of four chromosomes that contain 165 Mb of DNA, 120 Mb of which are euchromatic. The two Drosophila Genome Projects, in collaboration with Celera Genomics...

From First Base: the sequence of the Tip of the X Chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster, a comparison of two sequencing strategies (2001)

Benos, Panayiotis V., Gatt, Melanie K., Murphy, Lee, Harris, David, Barrell, Bart, Ferraz, Concepcion, ...

We present the sequence of a contiguous 2.63 Mb of DNA extending from the tip of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Within this sequence, we predict 277 protein coding genes, of which 94...

A cell surface mucin specifically expressed in the midgut of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. (1999)

Shen, Zhicheng, Dimopoulos, George, Kafatos, Fotis C., Jacobs-Lorena, Marcelo

An invertebrate intestinal mucin gene, AgMuc1, was isolated from the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The predicted 122-residue protein consists of a central core of seven repeating TTTTVAP...

Silkmoth chorion proteins: Sequence analysis of the products of a multigene family (1978)

Regier, Jerome C., Kafatos, Fotis C., Goodfliesh, Robert, Hood, Leroy

Five polypeptide components have been isolated from the eggshell (chorion) of a silkmoth. Two are homogeneous on sodium dodecyl sulfate and isoelectric focusing gels, and three contain predominantly...

Toward Anopheles transformation: Minos element activity in anopheline cells and embryos

Catteruccia, Flaminia, Nolan, Tony, Blass, Claudia, Müller, Hans-Michael, Crisanti, Andrea, Kafatos, Fotis C., ...

The ability of the Minos transposable element to function as a transformation vector in anopheline mosquitoes was assessed. Two recently established Anopheles gambiae cell lines were stably...

A modular chitin-binding protease associated with hemocytes and hemolymph in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Danielli, Alberto, Loukeris, Thanasis G., Lagueux, Marie, Müller, Hans-Michael, Richman, Adam, Kafatos, Fotis C.

Sp22D, a modular serine protease encompassing chitin binding, low density lipoprotein receptor, and scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains, was identified by molecular cloning in the malaria...

Anopheles gambiae pilot gene discovery project: Identification of mosquito innate immunity genes from expressed sequence tags generated from immune-competent cell lines

Dimopoulos, George, Casavant, Thomas L., Chang, Shereen, Scheetz, Todd, Roberts, Chad, Donohue, Micca, ...

Together with AIDS and tuberculosis, malaria is at the top of the list of devastating infectious diseases. However, molecular genetic studies of its major vector, Anopheles gambiae, are still quite...

A cell surface mucin specifically expressed in the midgut of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Shen, Zhicheng, Dimopoulos, George, Kafatos, Fotis C., Jacobs-Lorena, Marcelo

An invertebrate intestinal mucin gene, AgMuc1, was isolated from the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The predicted 122-residue protein consists of a central core of seven repeating TTTTVAP...

Molecular immune responses of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae to bacteria and malaria parasites

Dimopoulos, George, Richman, Adam, Müller, Hans-Michael, Kafatos, Fotis C.

Immune responses of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae were monitored systematically by the induced expression of five RNA markers after infection challenge. One newly isolated marker...

When genetic distance matters: Measuring genetic differentiation at microsatellite loci in whole-genome scans of recent and incipient mosquito species

Wang, Rui, Zheng, Liangbiao, Touré, Yeya T., Dandekar, Thomas, Kafatos, Fotis C.

Genetic distance measurements are an important tool to differentiate field populations of disease vectors such as the mosquito vectors of malaria. Here, we have measured the genetic differentiation...

Gambicin: A novel immune responsive antimicrobial peptide from the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae

Vizioli, Jacopo, Bulet, Philippe, Hoffmann, Jules A., Kafatos, Fotis C., Müller, Hans-Michael, Dimopoulos, George

A novel mosquito antimicrobial peptide, gambicin, and the corresponding gene were isolated in parallel through differential display-PCR, an expressed sequence tag (EST) project, and characterization...

Comparative genomic analysis in the region of a major Plasmodium-refractoriness locus of Anopheles gambiae

Thomasová, Dana, Ton, Lucas Q., Copley, Richard R., Zdobnov, Evgeny M., Wang, Xuelan, Hong, Young S., ...

We have sequenced six overlapping clones from a library of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones derived from a laboratory strain of the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, the major vector of human...

Genome expression analysis of Anopheles gambiae: Responses to injury, bacterial challenge, and malaria infection

Dimopoulos, George, Christophides, George K., Meister, Stephan, Schultz, Jörg, White, Kevin P., Barillas-Mury, Carolina, ...

The complex gene expression responses of Anopheles gambiae to microbial and malaria challenges, injury, and oxidative stress (in the mosquito and/or a cultured cell line) were surveyed by using cDNA...

The role of reactive oxygen species on Plasmodium melanotic encapsulation in Anopheles gambiae

Kumar, Sanjeev, Christophides, George K., Cantera, Rafael, Charles, Bradley, Han, Yeon Soo, Meister, Stephan, ...

Malaria transmission depends on the competence of some Anopheles mosquitoes to sustain Plasmodium development (susceptibility). A genetically selected refractory strain of Anopheles gambiae blocks...

Molecular interactions between Anopheles stephensi midgut cells and Plasmodium berghei: the time bomb theory of ookinete invasion of mosquitoes

Han, Yeon Soo, Thompson, Joanne, Kafatos, Fotis C., Barillas-Mury, Carolina

We present a detailed analysis of the interactions between Anopheles stephensi midgut epithelial cells and Plasmodium berghei ookinetes during invasion of the mosquito by the parasite. In this...

From First Base: The Sequence of the Tip of the X Chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster, a Comparison of Two Sequencing Strategies

Benos, Panayiotis V., Gatt, Melanie K., Murphy, Lee, Harris, David, Barrell, Bart, Ferraz, Concepcion, ...

We present the sequence of a contiguous 2.63 Mb of DNA extending from the tip of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Within this sequence, we predict 277 protein coding genes, of which 94...

Purification of a Family of Specific Messenger Ribonucleic Acids from Moth Follicular Cells

Gelinas, Richard E., Kafatos, Fotis C.

When moth follicular cells synthesize the characteristic, low-molecular-weight chorion (eggshell) proteins, they contain at least two groups of 8-9S RNAs which appear to be chorion mRNA. This class...

Mapping and identification of essential gene functions on the X chromosome of Drosophila

Peter, Annette, Schöttler, Petra, Werner, Meike, Beinert, Nicole, Dowe, Gordon, Burkert, Peter, ...

The Drosophila melanogaster genome consists of four chromosomes that contain 165 Mb of DNA, 120 Mb of which are euchromatic. The two Drosophila Genome Projects, in collaboration with Celera Genomics...

Reverse genetics in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae: targeted disruption of the Defensin gene

Blandin, Stéphanie, Moita, Luis F., Köcher, Thomas, Wilm, Matthias, Kafatos, Fotis C., Levashina, Elena A.

Anopheles gambiae, the major vector of human malaria parasite, is an important insect model to study vector–parasite interactions. Here, we developed a simple in vivo double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)...

Genomic analysis of Drosophila chromosome underreplication reveals a link between replication control and transcriptional territories

Belyakin, Stepan N., Christophides, George K., Alekseyenko, Artyom A., Kriventseva, Evgenia V., Belyaeva, Elena S., Nanayev, Roman A., ...

In Drosophila polytene chromosomes, most late-replicating regions remain underreplicated. A loss-of-function mutant of the suppressor of underreplication [Su(UR)] gene suppresses underreplication...

Immune signaling pathways regulating bacterial and malaria parasite infection of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Meister, Stephan, Kanzok, Stefan M., Zheng, Xue-li, Luna, Coralia, Li, Tong-Ruei, Hoa, Ngo T., ...

We show that, in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, expression of Cecropin 1 is regulated by REL2, an NF-κB-like transcription factor orthologous to Drosophila Relish. Through alternative...

A Comparative Genomic Analysis of Two Distant Diptera, the Fruit Fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the Malaria Mosquito, Anopheles gambiae

Bolshakov, Viacheslav N., Topalis, Pantelis, Blass, Claudia, Kokoza, Elena, Della Torre, Alessandra, Kafatos, Fotis C., ...

Genome evolution entails changes in the DNA sequence of genes and intergenic regions, changes in gene numbers, and also changes in gene order along the chromosomes. Genes are reshuffled by...

AnoEST: Toward A. gambiae functional genomics

Kriventseva, Evgenia V., Koutsos, Anastasios C., Blass, Claudia, Kafatos, Fotis C., Christophides, George K., Zdobnov, Evgeny M.

Here, we present an analysis of 215,634 EST and cDNA sequences of a major vector of human malaria Anopheles gambiae structured into the AnoEST database. The expressed sequences are grouped into...

An immune-responsive serpin, SRPN6, mediates mosquito defense against malaria parasites

Abraham, Eappen G., Pinto, Sofia B., Ghosh, Anil, Vanlandingham, Dana L., Budd, Aidan, Higgs, Stephen, ...

We have functionally analyzed the orthologous SRPN6 genes from Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles gambiae using phylogenetic, molecular, reverse genetic, and cell biological tools. The results...

Anopheles gambiae SRPN2 facilitates midgut invasion by the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei

Michel, Kristin, Budd, Aidan, Pinto, Sofia, Gibson, Toby J, Kafatos, Fotis C

We report on a phylogenetic and functional analysis of genes encoding three mosquito serpins (SRPN1, SRPN2 and SRPN3), which resemble known inhibitors of prophenoloxidase-activating enzymes in other...

Isolation and Characterization of Sex-Linked Female-Sterile Mutants in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER with Special Attention to Eggshell Mutants

Komitopoulou, Katia, Gans, Madeleine, Margaritis, Lukas H., Kafatos, Fotis C., Masson, Michele

To study genes that function mainly or exclusively during oogenesis, we have isolated and analyzed female-sterile mutations, with special emphasis on those that affect eggshell formation. Following...

Conditional expression in the malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi with Tet-On and Tet-Off systems.

Lycett, Gareth J, Kafatos, Fotis C, Loukeris, Thanasis G

We report successful conditional gene expression in the malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi, on the basis of binary systems consisting of gene driver and responder transgenic lines generated by...

Toward Anopheles transformation: Minos element activity in anopheline cells and embryos

Catteruccia, Flaminia, Nolan, Tony, Blass, Claudia, Müller, Hans-Michael, Crisanti, Andrea, Kafatos, Fotis C., ...

The ability of the Minos transposable element to function as a transformation vector in anopheline mosquitoes was assessed. Two recently established Anopheles gambiae cell lines were stably...

A modular chitin-binding protease associated with hemocytes and hemolymph in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Danielli, Alberto, Loukeris, Thanasis G., Lagueux, Marie, Müller, Hans-Michael, Richman, Adam, Kafatos, Fotis C.

Sp22D, a modular serine protease encompassing chitin binding, low density lipoprotein receptor, and scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains, was identified by molecular cloning in the malaria...

Anopheles gambiae pilot gene discovery project: Identification of mosquito innate immunity genes from expressed sequence tags generated from immune-competent cell lines

Dimopoulos, George, Casavant, Thomas L., Chang, Shereen, Scheetz, Todd, Roberts, Chad, Donohue, Micca, ...

Together with AIDS and tuberculosis, malaria is at the top of the list of devastating infectious diseases. However, molecular genetic studies of its major vector, Anopheles gambiae, are still quite...

A cell surface mucin specifically expressed in the midgut of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Shen, Zhicheng, Dimopoulos, George, Kafatos, Fotis C., Jacobs-Lorena, Marcelo

An invertebrate intestinal mucin gene, AgMuc1, was isolated from the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The predicted 122-residue protein consists of a central core of seven repeating TTTTVAP...

Molecular immune responses of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae to bacteria and malaria parasites

Dimopoulos, George, Richman, Adam, Müller, Hans-Michael, Kafatos, Fotis C.

Immune responses of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae were monitored systematically by the induced expression of five RNA markers after infection challenge. One newly isolated marker...

When genetic distance matters: Measuring genetic differentiation at microsatellite loci in whole-genome scans of recent and incipient mosquito species

Wang, Rui, Zheng, Liangbiao, Touré, Yeya T., Dandekar, Thomas, Kafatos, Fotis C.

Genetic distance measurements are an important tool to differentiate field populations of disease vectors such as the mosquito vectors of malaria. Here, we have measured the genetic differentiation...

Gambicin: A novel immune responsive antimicrobial peptide from the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae

Vizioli, Jacopo, Bulet, Philippe, Hoffmann, Jules A., Kafatos, Fotis C., Müller, Hans-Michael, Dimopoulos, George

A novel mosquito antimicrobial peptide, gambicin, and the corresponding gene were isolated in parallel through differential display-PCR, an expressed sequence tag (EST) project, and characterization...

Comparative genomic analysis in the region of a major Plasmodium-refractoriness locus of Anopheles gambiae

Thomasová, Dana, Ton, Lucas Q., Copley, Richard R., Zdobnov, Evgeny M., Wang, Xuelan, Hong, Young S., ...

We have sequenced six overlapping clones from a library of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones derived from a laboratory strain of the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, the major vector of human...

Genome expression analysis of Anopheles gambiae: Responses to injury, bacterial challenge, and malaria infection

Dimopoulos, George, Christophides, George K., Meister, Stephan, Schultz, Jörg, White, Kevin P., Barillas-Mury, Carolina, ...

The complex gene expression responses of Anopheles gambiae to microbial and malaria challenges, injury, and oxidative stress (in the mosquito and/or a cultured cell line) were surveyed by using cDNA...

A Comparative Genomic Analysis of Two Distant Diptera, the Fruit Fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the Malaria Mosquito, Anopheles gambiae

Bolshakov, Viacheslav N., Topalis, Pantelis, Blass, Claudia, Kokoza, Elena, Della Torre, Alessandra, Kafatos, Fotis C., ...

Genome evolution entails changes in the DNA sequence of genes and intergenic regions, changes in gene numbers, and also changes in gene order along the chromosomes. Genes are reshuffled by...

The role of reactive oxygen species on Plasmodium melanotic encapsulation in Anopheles gambiae

Kumar, Sanjeev, Christophides, George K., Cantera, Rafael, Charles, Bradley, Han, Yeon Soo, Meister, Stephan, ...

Malaria transmission depends on the competence of some Anopheles mosquitoes to sustain Plasmodium development (susceptibility). A genetically selected refractory strain of Anopheles gambiae blocks...

Molecular interactions between Anopheles stephensi midgut cells and Plasmodium berghei: the time bomb theory of ookinete invasion of mosquitoes

Han, Yeon Soo, Thompson, Joanne, Kafatos, Fotis C., Barillas-Mury, Carolina

We present a detailed analysis of the interactions between Anopheles stephensi midgut epithelial cells and Plasmodium berghei ookinetes during invasion of the mosquito by the parasite. In this...

From First Base: The Sequence of the Tip of the X Chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster, a Comparison of Two Sequencing Strategies

Benos, Panayiotis V., Gatt, Melanie K., Murphy, Lee, Harris, David, Barrell, Bart, Ferraz, Concepcion, ...

We present the sequence of a contiguous 2.63 Mb of DNA extending from the tip of the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Within this sequence, we predict 277 protein coding genes, of which 94...

Purification of a Family of Specific Messenger Ribonucleic Acids from Moth Follicular Cells

Gelinas, Richard E., Kafatos, Fotis C.

When moth follicular cells synthesize the characteristic, low-molecular-weight chorion (eggshell) proteins, they contain at least two groups of 8-9S RNAs which appear to be chorion mRNA. This class...

Mapping and identification of essential gene functions on the X chromosome of Drosophila

Peter, Annette, Schöttler, Petra, Werner, Meike, Beinert, Nicole, Dowe, Gordon, Burkert, Peter, ...

The Drosophila melanogaster genome consists of four chromosomes that contain 165 Mb of DNA, 120 Mb of which are euchromatic. The two Drosophila Genome Projects, in collaboration with Celera Genomics...

Reverse genetics in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae: targeted disruption of the Defensin gene

Blandin, Stéphanie, Moita, Luis F., Köcher, Thomas, Wilm, Matthias, Kafatos, Fotis C., Levashina, Elena A.

Anopheles gambiae, the major vector of human malaria parasite, is an important insect model to study vector–parasite interactions. Here, we developed a simple in vivo double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)...

AnoEST: Toward A. gambiae functional genomics

Kriventseva, Evgenia V., Koutsos, Anastasios C., Blass, Claudia, Kafatos, Fotis C., Christophides, George K., Zdobnov, Evgeny M.

Here, we present an analysis of 215,634 EST and cDNA sequences of a major vector of human malaria Anopheles gambiae structured into the AnoEST database. The expressed sequences are grouped into...

Genomic analysis of Drosophila chromosome underreplication reveals a link between replication control and transcriptional territories

Belyakin, Stepan N., Christophides, George K., Alekseyenko, Artyom A., Kriventseva, Evgenia V., Belyaeva, Elena S., Nanayev, Roman A., ...

In Drosophila polytene chromosomes, most late-replicating regions remain underreplicated. A loss-of-function mutant of the suppressor of underreplication [Su(UR)] gene suppresses underreplication...

Immune signaling pathways regulating bacterial and malaria parasite infection of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Meister, Stephan, Kanzok, Stefan M., Zheng, Xue-li, Luna, Coralia, Li, Tong-Ruei, Hoa, Ngo T., ...

We show that, in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, expression of Cecropin 1 is regulated by REL2, an NF-κB-like transcription factor orthologous to Drosophila Relish. Through alternative...

Isolation and Characterization of Sex-Linked Female-Sterile Mutants in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER with Special Attention to Eggshell Mutants

Komitopoulou, Katia, Gans, Madeleine, Margaritis, Lukas H., Kafatos, Fotis C., Masson, Michele

To study genes that function mainly or exclusively during oogenesis, we have isolated and analyzed female-sterile mutations, with special emphasis on those that affect eggshell formation. Following...

An immune-responsive serpin, SRPN6, mediates mosquito defense against malaria parasites

Abraham, Eappen G., Pinto, Sofia B., Ghosh, Anil, Vanlandingham, Dana L., Budd, Aidan, Higgs, Stephen, ...

We have functionally analyzed the orthologous SRPN6 genes from Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles gambiae using phylogenetic, molecular, reverse genetic, and cell biological tools. The results...

Anopheles gambiae SRPN2 facilitates midgut invasion by the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei

Michel, Kristin, Budd, Aidan, Pinto, Sofia, Gibson, Toby J, Kafatos, Fotis C

We report on a phylogenetic and functional analysis of genes encoding three mosquito serpins (SRPN1, SRPN2 and SRPN3), which resemble known inhibitors of prophenoloxidase-activating enzymes in other...

Conditional expression in the malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi with Tet-On and Tet-Off systems.

Lycett, Gareth J, Kafatos, Fotis C, Loukeris, Thanasis G

We report successful conditional gene expression in the malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi, on the basis of binary systems consisting of gene driver and responder transgenic lines generated by...

VectorBase: a home for invertebrate vectors of human pathogens

Lawson, Daniel, Arensburger, Peter, Atkinson, Peter, Besansky, Nora J., Bruggner, Robert V., Butler, Ryan, ...

VectorBase () is a web-accessible data repository for information about invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. VectorBase annotates and maintains vector genomes providing an integrated resource for...

Increased melanizing activity in Anopheles gambiae does not affect development of Plasmodium falciparum

Michel, Kristin, Suwanchaichinda, Chansak, Morlais, Isabelle, Lambrechts, Louis, Cohuet, Anna, Awono-Ambene, Parfait H., ...

Serpins are central to the modulation of various innate immune responses in insects and are suspected to influence the outcome of malaria parasite infection in mosquito vectors. Three Anopheles...

Plasmodium berghei: Plasmodium perforin-like protein 5 is required for mosquito midgut invasion in Anopheles stephensi

Ecker, Andrea, Pinto, Sofia B., Baker, Ken W., Kafatos, Fotis C., Sinden, Robert E.

During its life cycle the malarial parasite Plasmodium forms three invasive stages which have to invade different and specific cells for replication to ensue. Invasion is vital to parasite survival...

Anopheles and Plasmodium: from laboratory models to natural systems in the field

Cohuet, Anna, Osta, Mike A, Morlais, Isabelle, Awono-Ambene, Parfait H, Michel, Kristin, Simard, Frederic, ...

Parasites that cause malaria must complete a complex life cycle in Anopheles vector mosquitoes in order to be transmitted from human to human. Previous gene-silencing studies have shown the influence...

Life cycle transcriptome of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae and comparison with the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster

Koutsos, Anastasios C., Blass, Claudia, Meister, Stephan, Schmidt, Sabine, MacCallum, Robert M., Soares, Marcelo B., ...

The African mosquito Anopheles gambiae is the major vector of human malaria. We report a genome-wide survey of mosquito gene expression profiles clustered temporally into developmental programs and...