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Insekticide resistance and microevolution.

Resistance is a major global problem facing public health and agriculture and resistance has been found in hundreds of insect species. Resistance is microevolution or instant evolution, where the genetic composition of populations is change dramatically in just a few generations.

The aim of the research in insecticide resistance and toxicology is to develop and implement resistance management strategies, which ensure specific and limited use of insecticides by conserving insecticide susceptible genes in pest populations. Future directions of the research will primarily involve molecular biology methods looking at the origin, frequency and importance of resistance genes of veterinary and medically important insects including house flies (Musca domestica), German cockroaches (Blattella germanica), head lice (Pediculus capitis) and bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). Recently we have extended insecticide resistance research to included agricultural pests such as pollen beetles (Meligethes aeneus).

Rodenticide resistance

We have established a low density LNA-microarray with genes expressed in the rat liver to identify resistance genes. The importance of individual rodenticide resistance genes are elucidated by quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Molecular Culicoides taxonomy.

Biting midges are vectors of various diseases, e.g. the viral disease bluetongue which affects domesticated ruminant livestock. Culicoides biting midges are small and the present taxonomy is based on morphological traits that require highly specialized and specific knowledge of insect morphology. In the context of bluetongue surveillance we will establish phylogenetic methods based on the sequence variation of the mitochondrial COI gene and intergenic transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA.