Arthropod-borne diseases continue to plague developing regions and are being recognized as rising threats to public health in developed nations. Anthropogenic factors such as trade, international travel, global climate change, and habitat modification are major contributors to the spread of vectors and disease-causing agents. Moreover, pesticide/drug resistance and unsustainable control programs in many locations have eroded current methods of vector control and disease treatment. New insights into the biology of disease-transmitting insect and tick species are acutely needed in order to combat their devastating effects on human health and economic prosperity.

Our lab investigates the sensory neuronal basis for behaviors in disease-transmitting arthropods, especially mosquito vectors of arboviruses like Dengue and Zika. Of particular interest are the pathways that contribute to chemical- and temperature-oriented behaviors such as host seeking, nectar feeding and oviposition site selection. One of our major goals is to understand complex biological systems by employing a range of techniques including gene expression, neurophysiology, and animal responses to sensory stimuli. A long-term objective of our efforts will be to contribute to reductions in human and animal disease transmission at local, national, and regional levels by developing novel methods of arthropod surveillance and control that can be integrated into existing pest management programs.

selected Publications

selected Publications

Young, K.I., Medwid, J.T., Azar, S.R., Huff, R.M., Drumm, H., Coffey, L.L., Pitts, R.J., Buenemann, M., Vasilakis, N., Perera, D., Hanley, K.A., 2020. Identification of Mosquito Bloodmeals Collected in Diverse Habitats in Malaysian Borneo Using COI Barcoding. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 5, 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed5020051

Huff RM*, Pitts RJ*, 2019. An odorant receptor from Anopheles gambiae that demonstrates enantioselectivity to the plant volatile, linalool. PLOS ONE 14(11): e0225637. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225637

Mann, J.G., Washington, M., Guynup, T., Tarrand, C., Dewey, E.M., Fredregill, C., Duguma, D., Pitts, R.J., n.d., 2018. Feeding Habits of Vector Mosquitoes in Harris County, TX, 2018. J Med Entomol. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa117

Saveer, A.M., Pitts, R.J., Ferguson, S.T. et al., 2018. Characterization of Chemosensory Responses on the Labellum of the Malaria Vector Mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii. Sci Rep 8, 5656. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23987-y

Pitts RJ*, Derryberry S*, Zhang Z, Zwiebel LJ, 2017. Variant Ionotropic Receptors in the Malaria Vector Mosquito Anopheles gambiae Tuned to Amines and Carboxylic Acids. Sci Rep 7: 40297. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep40297

Dekel A, Pitts RJ, Yakir E, Bohbot JD, 2016. Evolutionary conserved odorant receptor function questions ecological context of octenol role in mosquitoes.  Sci Rep 6: 37330. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep37330

Rinker DC, Pitts RJ, Zwiebel LJ, 2016. Disease vectors in the era of next generation sequencing. Genome Biology 17:95. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-016-0966-4

Bohbot JB, Pitts RJ, 2015. The narrowing olfactory landscape of insect odorant receptors. Front Ecol Evol 3:39. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00039

Pitts RJ*, Derryberry SL Jr*, Pulous FE, Zwiebel LJ, 2014. Antennal-Expressed Ammonium Transporters in the Malaria Vector Mosquito Anopheles gambiae. PLoS One 9(10):e111858. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0111858

Pitts RJ, 2014. A blood-free protein meal supporting oogenesis in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse). J Insect Phys 64:1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2014.02.012

Pitts RJ*, Liu C*, Zhou X*, Malpartida JC, Zwiebel LJ, 2014. Odorant Receptor-Mediated Sperm Activation in Disease Vector Mosquitoes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111(7):2566-71. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322923111

Rinker DC*, Zhou X*, Pitts RJ, The AGC Consortium, Rokas A, Zwiebel LJ, 2013. Antennal Transcriptome Profiles of Anopheline mosquitoes reveal human host olfactory specialization in An. gambiae. BMC Genomics 14(1):749. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-14-749

Rinker DC, Pitts RJ, Zhou X, Suh E, Rokas A, Zwiebel LJ, 2013. Bloodmeal-induced changes to antennal transcriptome profiles reveal shifts in odor sensitivities in Anopheles gambiae. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110(20):8260-5. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1302562110

Charlwood JD, Tomás EVE, Egyir-Yawson A, Kampango A, Pitts RJ, 2012. Feeding Frequency and Survival of Anopheles gambiae from a rice growing area of Ghana. Med Vet Entomol 26(3):263-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2915.2011.00987.x

Pitts RJ*, Rinker DC*, Jones PL*, Rokas A, Zwiebel LJ, 2011. Transcriptome profiling of chemosensory appendages in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae reveals tissue- and sex-specific signatures of odor coding. BMC Genomics 12:271. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-12-271

Charlwood JD, Tomás EVE, Salgueiro P, Egyir-Yawson A, Pitts RJ, Pinto J, 2011. Studies on the behaviour of peridomestic and endophagic M form Anopheles gambiae from a rice growing area of Ghana. Bull Entomol Res 101(5):533-9. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007485311000125

Bohbot JD, Jones PL, Wang G, Pitts RJ, Pask GM, Zwiebel LJ, 2011. Conservation of indole responsive odorant receptors in mosquitoes reveals an ancient olfactory trait. Chem Senses 36(2):149-60. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjq105

Liu C*, Pitts RJ*, Bohbot JD, Jones PL, Wang G, Zwiebel LJ, 2010. Distinct olfactory signaling mechanisms in the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae. PLoS Biol 31;8(8). https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000467