Kristin Michel

Assistant Professor

Ph.D. 2002, University of California - Riverside
Entomology

Research interests: Regulation of mosquito innate immunity,
malaria parasite-mosquito interactions

 

267 Chalmers Hall
(785) 532-0161
kmichel@ksu.edu

Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology Web

Research Focus

My laboratory studies the innate immune system of mosquitoes and how it relates to the pathogens these insects transmit. Over the last years, we have identified a variety of immune factors that either positively or negatively affect the survival of the malaria parasite in its mosquito vector. Specifically, we are currently focusing our research effort on a group of serine protease inhibitors called serpins. These proteins control key innate immune reactions against different stages of the malaria parasite and potentially other disease agents. Our long term goal is to apply our findings to the design of novel disease control strategies, which envision the interruption of disease transmission within the mosquito vector.

Selected Research Publications

• Pinto SB, Lombardo F, Koutsos AC, Waterhouse RM, McKay K, An C, Ramakrishnan C, Kafatos FC, Michel K. (2009) Discovery of Plasmodium modulators by genome-wide analysis of circulating hemocytes in Anopheles gambiae. PNAS, 106(50):21270-5.

• Mayagaya VS, Michel K, Benedict MQ, Killeen GF, Wirtz RA, Ferguson HM, Dowell FE. (2009) Non-destructive determination of age and species of Anopheles gambiae s.l. using near-infrared spectroscopy. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 81(4):622-30.

• Pinto SB, Kafatos, FC and Michel K. (2009) The parasite invasion marker SPRN6 reduces sporozoite numbers in salivary glands of Anopheles gambiae. Cellular Microbiology, 10(4):891-898.

• Waterhouse RM, Kriventseva EV, Meister S, Xi Z, Alvarez KS, Bartholomay LC, Barillas-Mury C, Bian G, Blandin S, Christensen BM, Dong Y, Jiang H, Kanost MR, Koutsos AC, Levashina EA, Li J, Ligoxygakis P, Maccallum RM, Mayhew GF, Mendes A, Michel K, Osta MA, Paskewitz S, Shin SW, Vlachou D, Wang L, Wei W, Zheng L, Zou Z, Severson DW, Raikhel AS, Kafatos FC, Dimopoulos G, Zdobnov EM, Christophides GK.  (2008) Evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease-vector mosquitoes. Science, 316(5832):1738-1743.

• Michel K, Suwanchaichinda C, Morlais I, Lambrechts L, Cohuet A, Awono-Ambene PH, Simard F, Fontenille D, Kanost MR and KafatosFC (2007) Increased melanizing activity in Anopheles gambiae does not affect development of Plasmodium falciparum. PNAS, 103(45):16858-16863.

• Cohuet A, Osta MA, Morlais I, Awono-Ambene PH, Michel K, Simard F, Christophides GK, Fontenille D, Kafatos FC (2006) Anopheles and Plasmodium: from laboratory models to natural systems in the field. EMBO Rep., 7(12):1285-1289.

• Abraham EG, Pinto S, Ghosh A, Vanlandingham DL, Budd A, Higgs S, Kafatos FC, Jacobs-Lorena M, Michel K. (2006) An immune-responsive serpin, SRPN6, mediates mosquito defense against malaria parasites. PNAS, 102(45):16327-16332.

• Michel K, Pinto S, Budd A and Kafatos, FC. (2005) Anopheles gambiae SRPN2 facilitates midgut invasion by the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. EMBO Rep., 6(9):891-897.

• Moita LF, Wang-Sattler R, Michel K, Zimmermann T, Blandin S, Levashina EA and Kafatos FC. (2005) In vivo phagocytic screen in A. gambiae: new players and conserved pathways of engulfment, Immunity, 23(1):65-73.

• Michel K, and Kafatos, FC. (2005) Mosquito immunity against Plasmodium. Insect Biochem Mol Biol., 35(7):677-689.

• Michel K, and Atkinson PW. (2003) The C-terminus of the Hermes transposase contains a protein multimerization domain. Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 33(10): 959-970.

• Michel K, and Atkinson PW. Nuclear localization of the Hermes transposase depends on basic amino acid residues at the N-terminus of the protein. (2003) J Cell Biochem. 89(4): 778-790.

• Atkinson PW and Michel K. (2003) Drosophila melanogaster germ line transformation. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, Nature Publishing Group.

• Michel K, O'Brochta DA, and Atkinson PW. (2003) Does the proposed DSE motif form the active center in the Hermes transposase? Gene. 298(2): 141-146.

• Christophides GC, Zdobnov E, Barillas-Mury C, Birney E, Blandin S, Blass C, Brey PT, Collins FH, Danielli A, Dimopoulos G, Hetru C, Hoa NT, Hoffmann JA, Kanzok SM, Letunic E, Levashina E, Loukeris TG, Lycett G, Meister S, Michel K, Moita LF, Mueller H-M, Osta MA, Paskewitz SM, Reichhart J-M, Rzhetsky A, Troxler L, Vernick KD, Vlachou D, Volz J, von Mering C,  Xu J, Zheng L, Bork P, and Kafatos FC. Immunity-related genes and gene families in Anopheles gambiae: A comparative genomic analysis. (2002) Science 298(5591): 159-165.

• Atkinson PW, and Michel K. What's buzzing? (2002) Mosquito genomics and transgenic mosquitoes. Genesis 32(1): 42-48.

• Pinkerton AC, Michel K, O’Brochta DA and Atkinson PW. (2000) Green fluorescent protein as a genetic marker in transgenic Aedes aegypti. Insect Mol. Biol. 9(1): 1-10.