Our publications

• 2024

  • High vector competence for chikungunya virus but heavily reduced locomotor activity of Aedes albopictus from Germany at low temperatures

    • Renke Lühken, Leif Rauhöft, Björn Pluskota, Unchana Lange, Michelle Helms, Norbert Becker, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Carola Kuhn, Egbert Tannich, Stephanie Jansen & Anna Heitmann
    • Parasites & Vectors
    • 2024-12-05

  • Mosquito Wing Image Repository for Advancing Research on Geometric Morphometric- and AI-Based Identification

    • Kristopher Nolte, Eric Agboli, Gabriela Azambuja Garcia, Athanase Badolo, Norbert Becker, Do Huy Loc, Tarja Viviane Dworrak, Jacqueline Eguchi, Albert Eisenbarth, Rafael Maciel de Freitas, Ange Gatien Doumna-Ndalembouly, Anna Heitmann, Stephanie Jansen, Artur Jöst, Hanna Jöst, Ellen Kiel, Alexandra Meyer, Wolf-Peter Pfitzner, Joy Saathoff, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Tatiana Sulesco, Artin Tokatlian, Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan, Carmen Villacañas de Castro, Magdalena Laura Wehmeyer, Julien Zahouli, Felix Gregor Sauer, Renke Lühken
    • Scientific data
    • 2024-11-15

  • Weak association of Usutu virus and haemosporidian infection in birds collected in Germany

    • Hattendorf C, Cadar D, Bosch S, Becker N, Lachmann L, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Heitmann A, Lühken R.
    • One health 2024, 19
    • 2024-07-30

  • Larval Competition between Aedes and Culex Mosquitoes Carries over to Higher Arboviral Infection during Their Adult Stage

    • Vanslembrouck A, Jansen S, De Witte J, Janssens C, Vereecken S, Helms M, Lange U, Lühken R, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Heitmann A, Müller R
    • Viruses 2024, 16(8), 1202.
    • 2024-07-26

  • Evaluation of the vector competence for Batai virus of native Culex and exotic Aedes species in Central Europe

    • Anna Heitmann, Magdalena Laura Wehmeyer, Renke Lühken, Konstantin Kliemke, Hanna Jöst, Norbert Becker, Michelle Helms, Jonas Schmidt‐Chanasit and Stephanie Jansen
    • Parasites & Vectors
    • 2024-05-16

  • Mosquitoes from Europe Are Able to Transmit Snowshoe Hare Virus

    • Stephanie Jansen, Patrick Höller, Michelle Helms, Unchana Lange, Norbert Becker, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Renke Lühken and Anna Heitmann
    • Viruses 2024, 16(2), 222
    • 2024-01-31

• 2023

  • Reconstructing the post-glacial spread of the sand fly Phlebotomus mascittii Grassi, 1908 (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Europe

    • Edwin Kniha, Vít Dvořák, Stephan Koblmüller, Jorian Prudhomme, Vladimir Ivović, Ina Hoxha, Sandra Oerther, Anna Heitmann, Renke Lühken, Anne-Laure Bañuls, Denis Sereno, Alice Michelutti, Federica Toniolo, Pedro M. Alarcón-Elbal, Daniel Bravo-Barriga, Mikel A. González, Javier Lucientes, Vito Colella, Domenico Otranto, Marcos Antônio Bezerra-Santos, Gernot Kunz, Adelheid G. Obwaller, Jerome Depaquit, Amer Alić, Ozge Erisoz Kasap, Bulent Alten, Jasmin Omeragic, Petr Volf, Julia Walochnik Viktor Sebestyén & Attila J. Trájer
    • comminications biology, 6, 1244 (2023)
    • 2023-12-08

  • Using geometric wing morphometrics to distinguish Aedes japonicus japonicus and Aedes koreicus

    • Felix G Sauer, Wolf Peter Pfitzner, Hanna Jöst, Leif Rauhöft, Konstantin Kliemke, Unchana Lange, Anna Heitmann, Stephanie Jansen, Renke Lühken
    • Parasit Vectors
    • 2023-11-15

  • Vector Competence of Northern European Culex pipiens Biotype pipiens and Culex torrentium to West Nile Virus and Sindbis Virus

    • Jansen S, Heitmann A, Uusitalo R, Korhonen EM, Lühken R, Kliemke K, Lange U, Helms M, Kirjalainen L, Nykänen R, Gregow H, Pirinen P, Rossini G, Vapalahti O, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Huhtamo E
    • Viruses. 2023 Feb 21;15(3):592. doi: 10.3390/v15030592
    • 2023-02-21

• 2022

  • Vector Competence of Mosquitoes from Germany for Sindbis Virus

    • Jansen S, Lühken R, Helms M, Pluskota B, Pfitzner WP, Oerther S, Becker N, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Heitmann A
    • Viruses. 2022 Nov 26;14(12):2644. doi: 10.3390/v14122644
    • 2022-11-26

• 2021

  • Vector Competence of the Invasive Mosquito Species Aedes koreicus for Arboviruses and Interference with a Novel Insect Specific Virus

    • Jansen S, Cadar D, Lühken R, Pfitzner WP, Jöst H, Oerther S, Helms M, Zibrat B, Kliemke K, Becker N, Vapalahti O, Rossini G, Heitmann A
    • Viruses. 2021 Dec 14;13(12):2507. doi: 10.3390/v13122507
    • 2021-12-14

  • Mammals Preferred: Reassortment of Batai and Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus Occurs in Mammalian but Not Insect Cells

    • Heitmann A, Gusmag F, Rathjens MG, Maurer M, Frankze K, Schicht S, Jansen S, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Jung K, Becker SC
    • Viruses. 2021 Aug 27;13(9):1702. doi: 10.3390/v13091702
    • 2021-08-27

  • Rift Valley fever virus detection in susceptible hosts with special emphasis in insects

    • Gregor KM, Michaely LM, Gutjahr B, Rissmann M, Keller M, Dornbusch S, Naccache F, Schön K, Jansen S, Heitmann A, König R, Brennan B, Elliott RM, Becker S, Eiden M, Spitzbarth I, Baumgärtner W, Puff C, Ulrich R, Groschup MH
    • Sci Rep. 2021 May 10;11(1):9822. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-89226-z
    • 2021-05-10

• 2020

  • Geometric morphometric wing analysis represents a robust tool to identify female mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Germany

    • Sauer FG, Jaworski L, Erdbeer L, Heitmann A, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Kiel E, Lühken R
    • Sci Rep. 2020 Oct 19;10(1):17613. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-72873-z
    • 2020-10-19

  • Microsatellite typing of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) populations from Germany suggests regular introductions

    • Lühken R, Heitmann A, Jansen S, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Börstler J, Werner D, Kampen H, Kuhn C, Pluskota B, Ferstl I, Jöst A, Becker N, Tannich E
    • Infect Genet Evol. 2020 Jul;81:104237. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104237
    • 2020-07-01

  • Phlebotomine sand flies in Southwest Germany: an update with records in new locations

    • Oerther S, Jöst H, Heitmann A, Lühken R, Krüger A, Steinhausen I, Brinker C, Lorentz S, Marx M, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Naucke T, Becker N
    • Parasit Vectors. 2020 Apr 21;13(1):173. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04058-6
    • 2020-04-21

• 2019

  • Culex torrentium: A Potent Vector for the Transmission of West Nile Virus in Central Europe

    • Jansen S, Heitmann A, Lühken R, Leggewie M, Helms M, Badusche M, Rossini G, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Tannich E
    • Viruses. 2019 May 29;11(6):492. doi: 10.3390/v11060492
    • 2019-05-29

• 2018

  • Detection, infection dynamics and small RNA response against Culex Y virus in mosquito-derived cells

    • Franzke K, Leggewie M, Sreenu VB, Jansen S, Heitmann A, Welch SR, Brennan B, Elliott RM, Tannich E, Becker SC, Schnettler E
    • J Gen Virol. 2018 Dec;99(12):1739-1745. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001173
    • 2018-12-01

  • Experimental transmission of Zika virus by Aedes japonicus japonicus from southwestern Germany

    • Jansen S, Heitmann A, Lühken R, Jöst H, Helms M, Vapalahti O, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Tannich E
    • Emerg Microbes Infect. 2018 Nov 28;7(1):192. doi: 10.1038/s41426-018-0195-x
    • 2018-11-28

  • Forced Salivation As a Method to Analyze Vector Competence of Mosquitoes

    • Heitmann A, Jansen S, Lühken R, Leggewie M, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Tannich E
    • J Vis Exp. 2018 Aug 7:(138):57980. doi: 10.3791/57980
    • 2018-08-07

  • Experimental risk assessment for chikungunya virus transmission based on vector competence, distribution and temperature suitability in Europe, 2018

    • Heitmann A, Jansen S, Lühken R, Helms M, Pluskota B, Becker N, Kuhn C, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Tannich E
    • Euro Surveill. 2018 Jul;23(29):1800033. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.29.1800033
    • 2018-07-23

  • Culex torrentium mosquitoes from Germany are negative for Wolbachia

    • Leggewie M, Krumkamp R, Badusche M, Heitmann A, Jansen S, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Tannich E, Becker SC
    • Med Vet Entomol. 2018 Mar;32(1):115-120. doi: 10.1111/mve.12270
    • 2018-03-02

• 2017

  • RNA Interference Restricts Rift Valley Fever Virus in Multiple Insect Systems

    • Dietrich I, Jansen S, Fall G, Lorenzen S, Rudolf M, Huber K, Heitmann A, Schicht S, Ndiaye EH, Watson M, Castelli I, Brennan B, Elliott RM, Diallo M, Sall AA, Failloux AB, Schnettler E, Kohl A, Becker SC
    • mSphere. 2017 May 3;2(3):e00090-17. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00090-17
    • 2017-05-03

  • Experimental transmission of Zika virus by mosquitoes from central Europe

    • Heitmann A, Jansen S, Lühken R, Leggewie M, Badusche M, Pluskota B, Becker N, Vapalahti O, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Tannich E
    • Euro Surveill. 2017 Jan 12;22(2):30437. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.2.30437
    • 2017-01-12

• 2015

  • Long-term live imaging reveals cytosolic immune responses of host hepatocytes against Plasmodium infection and parasite escape mechanisms

    • Prado M, Eickel N, De Niz M, Heitmann A, Agop-Nersesian C, Wacker R, Schmuckli-Maurer J, Caldelari R, Janse CJ, Khan SM, May J, Meyer CG, Heussler VT
    • Autophagy. 2015;11(9):1561-79. doi: 10.1080/15548627.2015.1067361
    • 2015-01-01

• 2014

  • A cysteine protease inhibitor of plasmodium berghei is essential for exo-erythrocytic development

    • Lehmann C, Heitmann A, Mishra S, Burda PC, Singer M, Prado M, Niklaus L, Lacroix C, Ménard R, Frischknecht F, Stanway R, Sinnis P, Heussler V
    • PLoS Pathog . 2014 Aug 28;10(8):e1004336. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004336
    • 2014-08-28