Zhijian (Jake) Tu简介
DrTuusesmoderngenomicsandbioinformaticstoolstostudythebasicgeneticsandphysiologyofmosquitoeswiththelong-termgoalofreducingtheburdenofvector-borneinfectiousdiseasesMosquitotransmitteddiseases,suchasmalaria,denguefever,andencephalitis,claimmillionsoflivesworldwideeachyearMylaboratoryisusingmoderngenomicsandbioinformaticstoolstostudythebasicgeneticsandphysiologyofmosquitoeswiththelong-termgoalofreducingtheburdenofvector-borneinfectiousdiseasesMyresearchprogramcoversthreeareasFirst,wearedevelopinganovelsyntheticgenedrivesystemcalledMEDEA(Maternal-effectdominantembryonicarrest)forefficientandsafespreadofrefractorygenesinmosquitopopulationstocontrolinfectiousdiseasessuchasdengueandmalariaWeemploysystemsbiologyandbioinformaticsapproachestoidentifyandstudythefunctionofthekeycomponentsoftheMEDEAsystem,includingearlyzygoticpromoters,maternalpromoters,andmicroRNAsWearealsostudyingY-chromosomegenesinAnophelinemosquitoesThesegenesarepowerfulmarkersforevolutionaryanalysisandsomeofthemmaybeimportantinsexualdifferentiationUnderstandingmosquitosex-determinationhassignificantpracticalimplicationsasonlyfemalestakebloodandtransmitdiseasesFinally,weareinterestedinmosquitotransposableelements(TEs),whicharemobilegeneticelementsthathavetheabilitytoreplicateandspreadinthegenomeOurobjectivesaretounderstandthefundamentalbiologyofTEsandtheirgenomicandevolutionaryimpactsaswellastoexploretheapplicationsofTEsasmoleculartoolstomanipulatemosquitogenomesforthepurposeofinterruptingtransmissionofpathogens