INSECT MOLECULAR GENETICS GROUP



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RESEARCH INTERESTS

►Insect molecular biology, insect molecular genetics, insect biotechnology ►Insect molecular physiology and endocrinology: Insect hormones and their receptors including ecdysteroids and JHs ►Isolation, molecular analysis and expression pattern of insects’ genes related environmental changes ►Molecular and metabolic studies of diapause ►Insect’s biodiversity ►Developmental regulation and distinct expression patterns in insect genes ►Population genetics in pests ►Effects of xenobiotics in insect metabolic pathways ► Novel bioassays andRNA interference.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

1. Gkouvitsas T, Kontogiannatos D, Kourti A (2008). Differential expression of two small Hsps during diapause in the corn stalk borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lef). Journal of Insect Physiology 54(12):1503-10.
2. Gkouvitsas T, Kontogiannatos D, Kourti A. (2009). Cognate Hsp70 gene is induced during deep larval diapause in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides. Insect Molecular  Biology  18 (20):  253-264.  
3. Gkouvitsas T, Kourti A. (2009). Juvenile hormone induces the expression of the SnoSP2 gene encoding a methionine-rich hexamerin in Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology  153 (2): 206-15.  
4. Garantonakis, Ν., D. Perdikis, D. Lykouressis, A. Kourti and T. Gkouvitsas. (2009). Identification of the parasitoids aphidius colemani and aphidius transcaspicus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Eurorean Journal of Entomology 106: 491-498.
5. Gkouvitsas T, Kontogiannatos D, Kourti A. (2009). Expression of the Hsp83 gene in response to diapause and thermal stress in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides. Insect Molecular Biology 18 (6):  759-768.
6. G. Banilas, M. Karampelias,, I. Makariti, A. Kourti and P. Hatzopoulos (2010). The olive DGAT2 gene is developmentally regulated and shares overlapping but distinct expression patterns with DGAT1. Journal of Experimental Botany 62(2): 521-32.
7. Kontogiannatos D, Michail X. and Kourti A. (2011). Molecular characterization of an ecdysteroid inducible carboxylesterase with GQSCG motif in the corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides. Journal of Insect Physiology 57: 1000–1009.
8. Michail X., Kontogiannatos D, and Kourti A. (2012). Bisphenol-A affects the developmental progression and expression of heat-shock protein genes in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides". Ecotoxicology 21(8): 2244-53. 
  9.Kourti A, Gkouvitsas T, Kontogiannatos D. (2012). Heat Shock Proteins: Classification, Functions and Applications. Roles of Heat shock proteins of Sesamia nonagrioides in developmental processes and abiotic stress response. NOVA Science book.
10. Kourti A, Gkouvitsas T, Kontogiannatos D. (2013). Heat Shock Proteins: Classification, Functions and Applications/ Chapter 5: Roles of Heat Shock Proteins of Sesamia Nonagrioides in Developmental Processes and Abiotic Stress Response,  Nova Publishers ISBN: 978-1-62417-646.
11. Dimitrios Kontogiannatos, Luc Swevers, Katsumi Maenaka, Enoch Y. Park, Kostas Iatrou, Anna Kourti (2013). Functional Characterization of a Juvenile Hormone Esterase Related Gene in the Moth Sesamia nonagrioides through RNA Interference. PLoS One. 8(9): 1-15, e73834.
12. L. Swevers1, H. Huvenne, G. Menschaert, D. Kontogiannatos, A. Kourti, Y.   Pauchet, R. ffrench-Constant and G. Smagghe (2013). Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera) gut transcriptome analysis: expression of RNA interference-related genes. Insect Molecular Biology 22(6), 668–684.
13. Anna Kourti (2013). Diapause Regulation in the Moth Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology A 3: 935-945.
14. Dimitris Kontogiannatos, Luc Swevers, Giannis Zakasis, Anna Kourti (2015). The molecular and physiological impact of bisphenol A in Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Ecotoxicology 24: 356–367.
15. Dimitrios Kontogiannatos, Giannis Zakasis & Anna Kourti (2015). The physiological impact of Bisphenol A on the developmental and reproductive processes of Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under LD and SD photoperiods. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry  97 (8), 1003-1016.
16. K. Koudounas, M. Manioudaki, A. Kourti, G. Banilas and P. Hatzopoulos (2015). Transcriptional profiling unravels potential metabolic activities of the olive leaf non-glandular trichome. Frontiiers in Plant Science 6: 1-10.
17. Dimitrios Kontogiannatos, Luc Swevers and Anna Kourti (2016).  Recent gene multiplication and evolution of a juvenile hormone esterase-related gene in a lepidopteran pest. Gene Reports  4: 139–152.
18. Kontogiannatos D, Gkouvitsas T, Kourti A. (2016). Τhe expression patterns of the clock genes Snoper and Snotim are affected by photoperiod in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 94(1) 1-14.
19. Kontogiannatos, D., Swevers, L. and Kourti, A. (2016). Abnormal development in larvae of Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) resulting from baculovirus-mediated overexpression of a JHE-related gene (SnJHER). European Journal of Entomology 114: 7-15.
20. Kontogiannatos D, Gkouvitsas T, Kourti A. (2017). The expression of the clock gene cycle has rhythmic pattern and is affected by photoperiod in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology   208–209: 1–6.
21. Kourti A, Swevers L. and Kontogiannatos D. (2017). Biological Control of Pest and Vector Insects. «I In Search of New Methodologies for efficient Insect Pest Control: The RNAi "movement"», InTech-open science,ISBN 978-953-51-3036-9, edited by Vonnie D.C. Shields.

 

 

 

Anna Kourti (PI)

CV

Dr. Anna Kourti
Associate Professor
Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Department of Biotechnology School of Food, Biotechnology and Development
Agricultural University of Athens
Iera odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece
Tel.: +30-210- 5294615
e-mail: akourti@aua.gr

 

 

 

Copyright 2017