João Pinto

Our primary research interests focus on the genetics and evolutionary biology of insect vectors of disease. We develop studies aimed at characterizing patterns of population structure and gene flow and how these affect the distribution of genes of interest (e.g. insecticide resistance genes), the evolution of traits of medical importance and responsiveness to vector control measures. Our major target organisms are mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles, Culex and Aedes, responsible for the transmission of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and arboviral infections.

1. The Anopheles gambiae 1000 Genomes Consortium [Miles A., Harding N.J., Botta G., Clarkson C., Antao T., Kozak K., Schrider D., Kern A., Redmond S., Sharakhov I., Pearson R., Bergey C., Fontaine M., Troco A., Diabate A., Costantini C., Rohatgi K., Elissa N., Coulibaly B., Dinis J., Midega J., Mbogo C., Mawejje H., Stalker J., Rockett K., Drury E., Mead D., Jeffreys A., Hubbart C., Rowlands K., Isaacs A., Jyothi D., Malangone C., Vauterin P., Jeffrey B., Wright I., Hart L., Kluczynski K., Cornelius V., MacInnis B., Henrichs C., Giacomantonio R., Ayala D., Bejon P., Besansky N., Burt A., Caputo B., della Torre A., Godfray C., Hahn M., Neafsey D., O’Loughlin S., Pinto J., Riehle M., Vernick K., Weetman D., Wilding C., White B., Lawniczak M., Donnelly M. & Kwiatkowski D.] (2017). Genetic diversity of the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Nature 552: 96-100. [link]
2. Seixas G., Grigoraki L., Weetman D., Vicente J.L., Silva A.C., Pinto J., Vontas J. & Sousa C.A. (2017). Insecticide resistance is mediated by multiple mechanisms in recently introduced Aedes aegypti from Madeira Island (Portugal). PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11: e0005799. [link]
3. Vicente J.L., Clarkson C.S., Caputo B., Gomes B., Pombi M., Sousa C.A., Antao T., Dinis J., Bottà G., Mancini E., Petrarca V., Mead D., Drury E., Stalker J., Miles A., Kwiatkowski D.P., Donnelly M.J., Rodrigues A., della Torre A., Weetman D. & Pinto J. (2017). Massive introgression drives species radiation at the range limit of Anopheles gambiae. Scientific Reports 7: 46451. [link]
4. Caputo B., Pichler V., Mancini E., Pombi M., Vicente J.L., Dinis J., Steen K., Petrarca V., Rodrigues A., Pinto J., della Torre A. & Weetman D. (2016). The last bastion? X chromosome genotyping of Anopheles gambiae species pair males from a hybrid zone reveals complex recombination within the major candidate ‘genomic island of speciation’. Molecular Ecology 25: 5719-5731. [link]
5. Gomes B., Wilding C.S., Weetman D., Sousa C.A., Novo M.T., Savage H.M., Almeida A.P.G., Pinto J. & Donnelly M.J. (2015). Limited genomic divergence between intraspecific forms of Culex pipiens under different ecological pressures. BMC Evolutionary Biology 15: 197. [link]