Trevor Sorrells, PhD
Research & Publications
Biography
News
Research Summary
Millions of years ago ancient flies evolved the ability to feed on vertebrate blood, becoming mosquitoes that still bite us to this day. This remarkable ability led to the transmission of pathogens through the bite of the mosquito. We study the central brain and other parts of the mosquito that are key to blood feeding behavior. Previously, we introduced optogenetics to the mosquito allowing us to activate neurons using light. We used this to show that mosquitoes search for humans for 10-15 minutes after a brief sensation of human odor, explaining why they are so persistent at biting. Using a range of genomic, optogenetic, imaging, and behavioral approaches, we are identifying specific neurons and genes that are essential to blood feeding and that could be targeted to disrupt this behavior.
We also study how evolution produced the adaptation of blood feeding over twenty times in arthropods. By comparing mosquitoes and other blood feeders with non-biting relatives we seek to understand how biological systems evolve new functions. We use comparative genomics, epigenomics, and transgenics to discover and test specific hypotheses about these evolutionary innovations.
Research Interests
Behavior, Animal; Biological Evolution; Genetics, Behavioral; Neurobiology; Genomics; Gene Regulatory Networks; Optogenetics; Mosquito Vectors
Selected Publications
- A persistent behavioral state enables sustained predation of humans by mosquitoesSorrells T, Pandey A, Rosas-Villegas A, Vosshall L. A persistent behavioral state enables sustained predation of humans by mosquitoes. ELife 2022, 11: e76663. PMID: 35550041, PMCID: PMC9154740, DOI: 10.7554/elife.76663.
- Sensory Discrimination of Blood and Floral Nectar by Aedes aegypti MosquitoesJové V, Gong Z, Hol F, Zhao Z, Sorrells T, Carroll T, Prakash M, McBride C, Vosshall L. Sensory Discrimination of Blood and Floral Nectar by Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes. Neuron 2020, 108: 1163-1180.e12. PMID: 33049200, PMCID: PMC9831381, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.09.019.
- Protein-coding changes preceded cis-regulatory gains in a newly evolved transcription circuitBritton C, Sorrells T, Johnson A. Protein-coding changes preceded cis-regulatory gains in a newly evolved transcription circuit. Science 2020, 367: 96-100. PMID: 31896718, PMCID: PMC8284397, DOI: 10.1126/science.aax5217.
- Intrinsic cooperativity potentiates parallel cis-regulatory evolutionSorrells T, Johnson A, Howard C, Britton C, Fowler K, Feigerle J, Weil P, Johnson A. Intrinsic cooperativity potentiates parallel cis-regulatory evolution. ELife 2018, 7: e37563. PMID: 30198843, PMCID: PMC6173580, DOI: 10.7554/elife.37563.
- Intersecting transcription networks constrain gene regulatory evolutionSorrells T, Booth L, Tuch B, Johnson A. Intersecting transcription networks constrain gene regulatory evolution. Nature 2015, 523: 361-365. PMID: 26153861, PMCID: PMC4531262, DOI: 10.1038/nature14613.
- Making Sense of Transcription NetworksSorrells T, Johnson A. Making Sense of Transcription Networks. Cell 2015, 161: 714-723. PMID: 25957680, PMCID: PMC4531093, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.04.014.
- Identification and characterization of a previously undescribed family of sequence-specific DNA-binding domainsLohse M, Hernday A, Fordyce P, Noiman L, Sorrells T, Hanson-Smith V, Nobile C, DeRisi J, Johnson A. Identification and characterization of a previously undescribed family of sequence-specific DNA-binding domains. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2013, 110: 7660-7665. PMID: 23610392, PMCID: PMC3651432, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1221734110.
- Protein Modularity, Cooperative Binding, and Hybrid Regulatory States Underlie Transcriptional Network DiversificationBaker C, Booth L, Sorrells T, Johnson A. Protein Modularity, Cooperative Binding, and Hybrid Regulatory States Underlie Transcriptional Network Diversification. Cell 2012, 151: 80-95. PMID: 23021217, PMCID: PMC3519278, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.08.018.
- A Recently Evolved Transcriptional Network Controls Biofilm Development in Candida albicansNobile C, Fox E, Nett J, Sorrells T, Mitrovich Q, Hernday A, Tuch B, Andes D, Johnson A. A Recently Evolved Transcriptional Network Controls Biofilm Development in Candida albicans. Cell 2012, 148: 126-138. PMID: 22265407, PMCID: PMC3266547, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.10.048.
- Chemical Defense by the Native Winter Ant (Prenolepis imparis) against the Invasive Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile)Sorrells T, Kuritzky L, Kauhanen P, Fitzgerald K, Sturgis S, Chen J, Dijamco C, Basurto K, Gordon D. Chemical Defense by the Native Winter Ant (Prenolepis imparis) against the Invasive Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile). PLOS ONE 2011, 6: e18717. PMID: 21526231, PMCID: PMC3079705, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018717.