The Biology Seminar Series is excited to announce the next speaker in our fall semester lineup:
Dr. Eric Caragata
"Understanding the Role of Native Wolbachia Infections in Mosquito Biology"
Friday, November 6th, @4pm in FB-101
Seminar Description: Wolbachia is one of the most common bacterial symbionts found in insects. It can alter host reproductive biology and to protect hosts from viral infections, which makes it useful for the biological control of mosquitoes. Prominent mosquito control programs use Wolbachia infections that are artificially established in key mosquito vector species, but Wolbachia also naturally infects many mosquito species. These native host-symbiont associations typically have an attenuated ability to block pathogen infections, however, their overall impact on disease risk is uncharacterized. This seminar considers the influence of native Wolbachia infection on mosquito biology and describes its ability to help mosquitoes like Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus to resist infection with important pathogens.