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photo of Dr. Aaron Gross

Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology

Program Focus

The goal of the Molecular Physiology and Toxicology Laboratory is to control arthropod pests that have a significant impact on human health, animal health and agriculture.  The research that is conducted has three broad themes:

Discovery and mode of action:  The failure of currently used insecticides/ acaricides highlights the need to identify new chemistry (synthetic or natural) working at novel or underutilized protein targets.  My research interests focus on understanding the physiological function, pharmacology and toxicology of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), GPCR-related pathways and ion channels.  This information is used to realize the potential of these targets for insecticide/acaricide development.  

Vector-host interaction: Arthropods have adapted mechanisms to evade their host’s immune response.  In particular, ticks can have a significant interaction with their mammalian host, which can last from hours to days.  Research focuses on arthropod salivary molecules and the molecular mechanisms that are involved in manipulating the vector-host relationship.  The goal is to develop interventions (chemical or vaccine) that can be used to adversely affect this intimate relationship.

Insecticide/acaricide resistance: Widespread use of chemical insecticides/acaricides has resulted in failure of these compounds in the field.  Here, research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that are involved in insecticide/acaricide resistance with the goal of helping growers, producers, and public health officials make informed pest control decisions.

Selected Publications  

Norris, E.J., A.D. Gross, L.C. Bartholomay, J.R. Coats (2019). Plant essential oils synergize various pyrethroid insecticides and antagonize malathion in Aedes aegypti. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, In press. 

Swale, D.R., A.D. Gross, Q.R.R. Coquerel, and J.R. Bloomquist (2018). Electrophysiological recording of the central nervous system activity of third-instar Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Visualized Experiments 141.  

Gross, A.D., J.R. Bloomquist (2018) Characterizing permethrin and etofenprox resistance in two common laboratory strains of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: culicidae). Insects, 9(4):10. 

Norris, E.J., J.B. Johnson, A.D. Gross, L.C. Bartholomay, and J.R. Coats (2018) Plant essential oils enhance diverse pyrethroids against multiple strains of mosquitoes and inhibit detoxification enzyme processes. Insects, 9(4): 20. 

Tsikolia, M., U.R. Bernier, N.M. Agramonte, A. Estep, J.J. Becnel, N. Tabanca, D.E. Wedge, K.J. Linthicum, A.D. Gross, P.M. Guerin, T. Kröber, and J.R. Bloomquist (2018) Pesticidal and repellent properties of some novel trifluoromethylphenyl amides, Part II.  Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 151: 40-46.

Gross, A.D., J.R. Bloomquist (2018) Pharmacology of central octopaminergic and muscarinic pathways in Drosophila melanogaster larvae: Assessing the target potential of GPCRs. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 151: 53-58.  

Taylor-Wells, J., A.D. Gross, S. Jiang, F. Demares, J.S. Clements, P.R. Carlier, and J.R. Bloomquist (2018) Toxicity, mode of action, and synergist potential of flonicamid against mosquitoes. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 151: 3-9.

Norris, E.J., M. Archinald-Cansobre, A.D. Gross, L.C. Bartholomay, and J.R. Coats (2018) Rapid immobilization of adult Aedes aegypti caused by plant essential oils at sublethal concentrations. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 34(3): 210-216.

Seiber, J.N., J.R. Coats, S.O. Duke, and A.D. Gross (2018) Pest management with biopesticides. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering 5(3): 295-300.

Clements, J.S., R. Islam, B. Sun, F. Tong, A.D. Gross, J.R. Bloomquist, and P.R. Carlier (2017) N’-mono- and N,N’-diacyl derivatives of benzyl and arylhydrazines as contact insecticides against adult Anopheles gambiae.  Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 143: 33-38.

Tok, F., B. Kocyigit-kaymakcioglu, N. Tabanca, A.S. Estep, A.D. Gross, W. Geldenhuyus, J.J. Becnel, and J.R. Bloomquist (2017) Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of carbohydrazides and 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives bearing imidazolidine moiety against the yellow fever and dengue vector, Aedes aegypti. Pest Management Science 74: 413-421.

Larson, N.R., P.R. Carlier, A.D. Gross, R.M. Islam, M. Ma, B. Sun, M.M. Totrov, R. Yadav, and J.R. Bloomquist (2017) Toxicology of potassium channel-directed compounds in mosquitoes. NeuroToxicology 60: 214-223.

Gross, A.D., E. J. Norris, L. C. Bartholomay, M. J. Kimber, and J. R. Coats (2017) Essential oils enhance the toxicity of permethrin against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae. Journal of Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 31(1): 55-62.

Gross, A.D., N.R. Tabanaca, R. Islam, A. Ali, I.A. Khan, Z.A. Kaplancikli, A. Ozdemir, and J.R. Bloomquist (2017) Toxicity and synergistic activities of novel chalcones against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Cuilicidae) and Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 54(2): 382-386.

Gross, A.D., K.B. Temeyer, T.A. Day, A.A. Pérez de León, M.J. Kimber, and J.R. Coats (2017) Plant essential oil terpenoids interacting with the southern cattle tick’s tyramine receptor: A potential biopesticide target. Chemico-Biological Interactions 263(1): 1-6.

Francis, S.A.M, J. Taylor-Wells, A.D. Gross, and J.R. Bloomquist (2017) Toxicity and physiological actions of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.  Insects, 8(1),2; doi:10.3390/insects8010002.

Swale, D.R., D.W. Engers, S.R. Bollinger, A.D. Gross, E. Alfaro Inocente, E. Days, F. Kanga, R.M. Johnson, L. Yang, J.R. Bloomquist, C.R. Hopkins, P.M. Piermarini, J.S. Denton (2016) A small-molecule inhibitor of mosquito inward rectifier potassium channels with resistance-breaking insecticidal activity. Scientific Reports, 6, 36954, doi:10.1038/srep36954.

Mutunga, J.M., Q. Chen, D.M. Wong, P. Lam, J. Li, M.M. Totrov, A.D. Gross, P.R. Carlier, J.R. Bloomquist (2016) Bivalent carbamates as novel control agents of the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. Chimia, 175(1-3): 368-375.

Camerino, E., D.M. Wong, F. Tong, F. Körber, A.D. Gross, R. Islam, E. Viayna, M.M. Totrov, J. Li, J.R. Bloomquist, and P.R. Carlier (2015) Difluoromethyl ketones: potent inhibitors of wild type and carbamate-insensitive G119S mutant Anopheles gambiae acetylcholinesterase. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 25(20): 4405-4411.

Norris, E.J., A.D. Gross, B. Dunphy, L.C. Bartholomay, and J.R. Coats (2015) Comparison of the insecticidal characteristics of commercially available plant essential oils against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae. Journal of Medical Entomology, 52 (5): 993-1002.

Gross, A.D., K.B. Temeyer, T.A. Day, A.A. Pérez de León, M.J. Kimber, and J.R. Coats (2015) Pharmacological characterization of a tyramine receptor from the southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 63: 47-53.