The Mills Lab – Fly lab
Egg Development in Understudied Insect Vectors
Research in this lab focuses on characterizing egg development in two understudied livestock pests: Stomoxys calcitrans (stable flies) and Culicoides sonorensis (midges). These blood-feeding insects serve as vectors for pathogens that affect livestock, leading to infestations and significant economic losses in associated industries. Since blood-feeding is essential for egg production, understanding the timing and molecular mechanisms behind egg development is crucial. This knowledge can help identify potential targets for innovative control strategies
Current Research Topics
1. Determining temporal gene expression dynamics across egg development
- Molecular biology
2. Characterizing non-coding RNA populations within stable flies and midges
- Next generation sequencing
- Computational analyses
3. Determining non-coding and coding RNA gene expression dynamics across egg development
- Next generation sequencing
- Computational analyses
- Molecular Biology
4. Monitoring follicular development
- Histology
About The Professor
Dr. Mary Katherine (MK) Mills
B.A. Biology from Georgia Southern University 2012
Ph.D. Biology from Kansas State University 2017
[email protected]
Background: Entomology, Vector-Pathogen Interactions, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Histology
Courses Taught
• Biological Sciences (BIOL A121)
• Medical Entomology (BIOL A312)
• Fundamentals of Microbiology (BIOL A330)
• Biology Seminar (BIOL A400)
• Senior Seminar (BIOL A499)
Publications:
• Mills, M., Rozo-Lopez, P., Bryant, B., & Drolet, B. 2023. microRNA expression dynamics in Culicoides sonorensis biting midges following blood-feeding. Insects. 14(7), 611. PMID: 37504617.
• Bryant. B., Yang, A., Griffin, S., Zhang, W., Long, X., Rafiq, A.M, Han, W., Deak, F., Mills, M., Long, W., & Miano, J. 2022. CRISPR-Cas9 Long-Read Sequencing for Mapping Transgenes in the Mouse Genome. CRISPR J. 6(2): 163-175. PMID: 37071672
• Bryant, B., Ray, S., & Mills, M.K. 2020. Global Analysis of Small non-coding RNA populations Across Tissues in the Malaria Vector, Anopheles gambiae. Insects. 11(7): 407 PMID: 32630036
• Sandra, Y., Mills, M.K., Maki, E., Drolet, B.S., Wilson, W.C., Berghaus, R., Stallknecht, D.E., Breinenbach, J., McVey, D.S., & Ruder, M.G. 2019. EHDV-2 infection rates vary in Culicoides sonorensis after feeding on infected white-tailed deer over the course of viremia. Viruses. 11(4), E371. PMID: 31018507
• Nayduch, D., Shankar, V., Mills, M.K., Robi, T., Ruder, M.G., Scully, E.D., and Saski, C.A. 2019 Transcriptome Response of Female Culicoides sonorensis Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to Early Infection with Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (EHDV-2). Viruses. 11(5), E473. PMID: 31137627
• Bryant, W.B., Mills, M.K., Olson, B.J.S.C., and Michel, K. 2019. Small RNA-Seq Analysis Reveals miRNA Expression Dynamics Across Tissues in the Malaria Vector, Anopheles gambiae. G3. 9(5), 1507-1517. PMID: 30846481
• 2017 Mills, M.K., Ruder, M., Nayduch, D., Michel, K., and Drolet, B. 2017 Characterizing the infection timecourse of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2 within the vector, Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). PLoS One, 11(12), e0188865. PMID: 29176848
• Mills, M.K., Michel, K., Pfannenstiel, R., Ruder M., Veronsei, E., and Nayduch, D. 2017 Culicoides-virus interactions: infection barriers and possible factors underlying vector competence. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 22, 7-15. PMID: 28805641
• Mills, M.K., Nayduch, D., McVey, S., & Michel, K. 2016. Functional validation of apoptosis genes IAP1 and DRONC in midgut tissue of the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis by RNAi. J Med Ent, 54(3), 559-567. PMID: 28399198
• Mills, M. K., Nayduch, D., & Michel, K. 2015. Inducing RNA interference in the arbovirus vector, Culicoides sonorensis. Insect molecular biology, 24(1), 105-114. PMID: 25293805
• Joyner, C.J., Mills, M.K., & Dana Nayduch. 2013. The fate and survivability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and the effect on antimicrobial peptide (AMP) and lysozyme expression in the common housefly (Musca domestica L.) PloS One. e79224. PMID: 24260174