Claudia Rückert

Assistant Professor she/her

Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Office: 775-784-6092
Email: crueckert@unr.edu
Building: HMS
Room: 157B
Mailstop: 330
Website: Rückert Lab Website
Website: Twitter @ClaudiaRueckert

Summary

Our main research interest is in virus-vector interactions. Arthropod vectors of human pathogens include mosquitoes and ticks. We focus mainly on mosquito antiviral responses with the aim of identifying targets for arbovirus transmission control. Further projects will focus on mosquito biology, vector control and molecular biology of viruses that are transmitted by arthropod vectors. We are also interested in virus-tick interactions.

Courses

BCH 405/605 Molecular Biology in the Spring semester
BCH 790 Biochemistry Seminar in the Spring and Fall semester

Education

B.S., University of Heidelberg, Germany, 2008
M.S., University of Heidelberg, Germany, 2010
Ph.D., University of Edinburgh, UK, 2014

Publications

Journals

Elucidating the role of dsRNA sensing and Toll6 in antiviral responses of Culex quinquefasciatus cells.

2023

Front Cell Infect Microbiol

Prince BC, Chan K, Rückert C.

Evaluation of Vector-Enabled Xenosurveillance in Rural Guatemala.

2023

Am J Trop Med Hyg.

McMinn RJ, Chacon A, Rückert C, Scorza V, Young MC, Worthington D, Lamb MM, Medrano RE, Harris EK, Arias K, Lopez MR, Asturias EJ, Foy BD, Stenglein MD, Olson D, Ebel GD.

Identification of MicroRNAs in the West Nile Virus Vector Culex tarsalis (Diptera: Culicidae)

2023

J Med Entomol

Asad S, Mehdi AM, Pujhari S, Rückert C, Ebel GD, Rasgon JL.

Intracellular Diversity of WNV within Circulating Avian Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Host-Dependent Patterns of Polyinfection

2023

Pathogens

Talmi-Frank D, Byas AD, Murrieta R, Weger-Lucarelli J, Rückert C, Gallichotte EN, Yoshimoto JA, Allen C, Bosco-Lauth AM, Graham B, Felix TA, Brault AC, Ebel GD.

Recognition of Arboviruses by the Mosquito Immune System.

2023

Biomolecules

Prince BC, Walsh E, Torres TZB, Rückert C.

The Incompetence of Mosquitoes-Can Zika Virus Be Adapted To Infect Culex tarsalis Cells?

2023

mSphere

Gallichotte EN, Samaras D, Murrieta RA, Sexton NR, Robison A, Young MC, Byas AD, Ebel GD, Rückert C.

Culex Mosquito Piwi4 Is Antiviral against Two Negative-Sense RNA Viruses

2022

Viruses, Volume 14(12), 2758

E. Walsh, T. Torres, C. Rückert

Optimized In Vitro CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing Tool in the West Nile Virus Mosquito Vector, Culex quinquefasciatus

2022

Insects 2022, 13(9), 856

T. Torres, B. Prince, A. Robison, C. Rückert

Impact of extrinsic incubation temperature on natural selection during Zika virus infection of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

2021

PLoS Pathogens

Murrieta RA, Garcia-Luna SM, Murrieta DJ, Halladay G, Young MC, Fauver JR, Gendernalik A, Weger-Lucarelli J, Rückert C, Ebel GD.

Comparison of Chikungunya Virus and Zika Virus Replication and Transmission Dynamics in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

2020

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Robison, A., Young, M.C., Byas, A.D., Rückert, C., Ebel, G.D.

Arbovirus co-infection and co-transmission: a neglected public health concern? Unsolved Mystery

2019

PLoS Biology. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000130.

C. B. F. Vogels, C. Rückert, S. M. Cavany, T. A. Perkins, G. D. Ebel, N. D. Grubaugh

Discrete viral E2 lysine residues and scavenger receptor MARCO are required for clearance of circulating alphaviruses

2019

eLife

K. S. Carpentier, B. J. Davenport, K. C. Haist, M. K. McCarthy, N. A. May, A. Robison, C. Rückert, G. D. Ebel, and T. E. Morrison.

Profiling of small RNA responses of Culex cells and mosquitoes during acute and persistent virus infection.

2019

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2019; doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.04.008

C. Rückert, A. N. Prasad, A. Robison, N. D. Grubaugh, J. Weger-Lucarelli, G. D. Ebel

Adventitious viruses persistently infect three commonly used mosquito cell lines.

2018

Virology. 2018; doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2018.06.007

J. Weger-Lucarelli, C. Rückert, N. D. Grubaugh, M. J. Misencik, P. M. Armstrong, M. D. Stenglein, G. D. Ebel, D. Brackney.

How do virus-mosquito interactions lead to viral emergence?

2018

Trends in Parasitology. 2018; doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2017.12.004

C. Rückert, G. D. Ebel

Impact of simultaneous exposure to arboviruses on infection and transmission by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

2018

Nature Communications. 2017; doi.org/10.1038/NCOMMS15412

C. Rückert, J. Weger-Lucarelli, S. M. Garcia-Luna, M. C. Young, A. D. Byas, R.A. Murrieta, J. R. Fauver, G. D. Ebel

Variation in competence for ZIKV transmission by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus is dependent on salivary gland infection and escape barriers.

2018

PLoS NTD. 2018; doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006599.

S. M. Garcia-Luna, J. Weger-Lucarelli, C. Rückert, R. A Murrieta, M. C. Young, A. D. Byas, J. R. Fauver, R. Perera, A. E. Flores-Suarez, G. Ponce-Garcia, A. D. Rodriguez, G. D. Ebel, W. C. Black IV

Mosquitoes transmit unique West Nile virus populations during each feeding episode.

2017

Cell Reports. 2017; doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.076.

N. D. Grubaugh, J. R. Fauver, C. Rückert, J. Weger-Lucarelli, S. Garcia-Luna, R. A. Murrieta, A. Gendernalik, D. R. Smith, D. E. Brackney, G. D. Ebel

The influence of genetic bottlenecks, RNA interference-mediated diversification, and selective constraint on the evolution of a tick-borne virus.

2016

Virus evolution. doi.org/10.1093/ve/vew033.

N. D. Grubaugh, C. Rückert, P. M. Armstrong, A. Bransfield, J. Anderson, G. D. Ebel, D. E. Brackney

Antiviral responses of arthropod vectors: an update on recent advances’ Review article,

2014

VirusDisease, doi.org/10.1007/s13337-014-0217-9.

C. Rückert, L. Bell-Sakyi, J. K. Fazakerley & R. Fragkoudis

Co-infection of tick cell lines affects replication of intracellular bacterial and viral pathogens

2014

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases; doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2014.01.010.

A. Moniuszko, C. Rückert, M. P. Alberdi, G. Barry, B. Stevenson, J. K. Fazakerley, A. Kohl & L. Bell-Sakyi