@article{rasgon_scott_2004, title={An initial survey for Wolbachia (Rickettsiales : Rickettsiaceae) infections in selected california mosquitoes (Diptera : Culicidae)}, volume={41}, ISSN={["0022-2585"]}, DOI={10.1603/0022-2585-41.2.255}, abstractNote={Abstract Knowledge of biogeographic variation in Wolbachia infection rates and inferred susceptibility to infection among different mosquito taxa has fundamental implications for the design and successful application of Wolbachia-based vector-borne disease control strategies. Using a Wolbachia-specific polymerase chain reaction assay, we tested 14 North American mosquito species in five genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Culiseta, Culex, and Ochlerotatus) for Wolbachia infection. Wolbachia infections were only detected in members of the Culex pipiens (L.) species complex.}, number={2}, journal={JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY}, author={Rasgon, JL and Scott, TW}, year={2004}, month={Mar}, pages={255–257} }
 @article{rasgon_scott_2004, title={Crimson: A novel sex-linked eye color mutant of Culex pipiens L. (Diptera : Culicidae)}, volume={41}, ISSN={["1938-2928"]}, DOI={10.1603/0022-2585-41.3.385}, abstractNote={Abstract Xanthommatin is the primary ommochrome eye pigment in mosquitoes. The terminal step in xanthommatin biosynthesis, involving oxidation of 3-hydroxykynurenine (3HK), can proceed enzymatically by phenoxazinone synthase or by nonenzymatic auto-oxidation of 3HK. The relative contributions of these pathways, however, are unclear. We isolated a novel Culex pipiens mutant (crimson) that could be used to address this question. Homozygous crimson embryos exhibit no visible eyespot; first-instar larval ocelli are colorless. Eyes gradually turn red through immature development. Teneral crimson adults possess red eyes that darken to wild-type ≈5 d after emergence. Crosses indicate that crimson is sex-linked and fully recessive. Addition of xanthommatin precursors to rearing water did not rescue wild-type phenotype and suggested that the mutation is in the terminal step of ommochrome biosynthesis. Crimson expression was not temperature sensitive. Thin-layer chromatography demonstrated teneral crimson adults lacked xanthommatin. Teneral and aged wild-type adults exhibited low-mobility black ommochrome spots; aged crimson adults exhibited low-mobility brown-red ommochrome spots. Absorbance spectroscopy of eye extracts indicated teneral adult crimson eyes lacked xanthommatin but had abnormally high levels of 3HK, whereas extracts of 10-d-old crimson adults had depleted levels of 3HK and detectable levels of xanthommatin. Light microscopy indicated that eyes of young (3 d old) wild-type adults had a high concentration of pigment granules. Eyes of teneral crimson adults had no pigment granules. Eyes of 20-d-old crimson adults had low levels of pigment granules. We suggest two possible mechanisms for the crimson mutation: (1) transport of 3HK into the pigment cells and/or pigment granules is slow, with normal oxidation of 3HK into xanthommatin, or (2) 3HK is transported normally into pigment cells/granules but is not immediately oxidized to xanthommatin, resulting in 3HK hyper-accumulation and slow nonenzymatic production of xanthommatin after adult emergence.}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY}, author={Rasgon, JL and Scott, TW}, year={2004}, month={May}, pages={385–391} }
 @article{rasgon_scott_2004, title={Impact of population age structure on Wolbachia transgene driver efficacy: ecologically complex factors and release of genetically modified mosquitoes}, volume={34}, ISSN={["1879-0240"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.03.023}, abstractNote={Wolbachia symbionts hold theoretical promise as a way to drive transgenes into insect vector populations for disease prevention. For simplicity, current models of Wolbachia dynamics and spread ignore ecologically complex factors such as the age structure of vector populations and overlapping vector generations. We developed a model including these factors to assess their impact on the process of Wolbachia spread into populations of three mosquito species (Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens). Depending on the mosquito species, Wolbachia parameters, released mosquito life stage and initial age structure of the target population, the number of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes that we predict would need to be released ranged from less than the threshold calculated by the simple model to a 10–30-fold increase. Transgenic releases into age-structured populations, which is an expectation for wild mosquitoes, will be difficult and depending on the circumstances may not be economically or logistically feasible due to the large number of infected mosquitoes that must be released. Our results support the perspective that understanding ecological factors is critical for designing transgenic vector-borne disease control strategies.}, number={7}, journal={INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY}, author={Rasgon, JL and Scott, TW}, year={2004}, month={Jul}, pages={707–713} }