Sequence and organization of the Heliothis virescens ascovirus genome (2007)
Asgari, S., Davis, J., Wood, D., Wilson, P., McGrath, A.
The nucleotide sequence of the Heliothis virescens ascovirus (HvAV-3e) DNA genome was determined and characterized in this study. The circular genome consists of 186 262 bp, has a G + C content of...
Ascoviruses (AVs) are double-stranded DNA viruses causing a fatal disease in lepidopteran host larvae. A unique feature of AV infection is cleavage of host cells into membrane bound vesicles...
Sensor Array Processing for Seismic Source Localization (SYS 23) (2006)
J. Zhao, S. Asgari, C.E. Chen, A.M. Ali, R.E. Hudson, K. Yao, ...
This poster describes our work on sensor array processing for the purpose of source localization with seismic signals. Methods for event detection, source direction of arrival (DOA) estimation, and...
Evolutionary origin of Venturia canescens virus-like particles (2006)
Reineke, A., Asgari, S., Schmidt, O.
Insect host-parasitoid interactions provide fascinating examples of evolutionary adaptations in which the parasitoid employs a variety of measures and countermeasures to overcome the immune responses...
Recognition and inactivation of LPS by lipophorin particles (2006)
Ma, G., Hay, D., Li, DM, Asgari, S., Schmidt, O.
Lipophorin is the major lipid carrier in insects, but various observations indicate that lipophorin is also involved in immune reactions. To examine a possible role of lipophorin in defence...
Replication of Heliothis virescens ascovirus in insect cell lines (2006)
Ascoviruses (AVs) infect larvae of various insect pests belonging to the family Noctuidae. The result of AV infection in the hosts is cleavage of infected cells into vesicles, a unique feature of AV...
Endoporasitoid wasps have evolved various mechanisms to ensure successful development of their progeny, including co-injection of a cocktail of maternal secretions into the host hemocoel, including...
Zhang, G. M., Schmidt, O., Asgari, S.
During oviposition, most endoparasitoid wasps inject maternal factors into their hosts to interfere with host immune reactions and ensure successful development of their progeny. Since encapsulation...
Localization based on acoustic and seismic array processing (2005)
J.Z. Stafsudd, S. Asgari, C.E. Chen, A. Ali, R. E. Hudson, F. Lorenzelli, ...
In this poster, we consider the analysis, implementation, and application of wideband sources using both seismic and acoustic sensors. We use the AML algorithm to perform acoustic DOA. For...
Acoustic Sensor Networks for Woodpecker Localization (2005)
H. Wang, C. E. Chen, A. Ali, S. Asgari, R.E. Hudson, K. Yao, ...
In this poster, we describe the 2-D acoustic array design for robust acoustic beamforming used in woodpecker localization sensor networks. Although woodpecker calls are not narrow-band signals, due...
SIP1: Acoustic Source and Wireless Sensor Node Localizations (2005)
A. Ali, S. Asgari, C.E. Chen, B.W. Cheng, R.E. Hudson, F. Lorenzelli, ...
In many sensor network applications, the localization of an emitting acoustic source as well as those of sensor nodes is of importance. In this poster, we first tackle the localization of the...
Generating testable hypotheses from tacit knowledge for high performance computing (2005)
Asgari, S., Hochstein, L., Basili, V.R., Carver, J., Hollingsworth, J.K., Shull, F., ...
HPC programmer productivity - A case study of novice HPC programmers (2005)
Hochstein, L., Carver, J., Shull, F., Asgari, S., Basili, V.R., Hollingsworth, J.K., ...
Parasitoid wasps use a variety of mechanisms to alter their host's physiology to the benefit of the developing endoparasite inside the host larva. Association of certain wasps with viruses and...
Mechanisms of inducible resistance against Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxins in invertebrates (2005)
Are insect immune suppressors driving cellular uptake reactions? (2005)
Schmidt, O., Roberts, H. L. S., Glatz, R. V., Asgari, S.
Many insect parasitoids that deposit their eggs inside immature stages of other insect species inactivate the cellular host defence to protect the growing embryo from encapsulation. Suppression of...
Evolution of polydnaviruses as insect immune suppressors (2004)
Glatz, R. V., Asgari, S., Schmidt, Otto
Polydnaviruses (PDVs) are endogenous particles that are used by some endoparasitic hymenoptera to disrupt host immunity and development. Recent analyses of encapsidated PDV genes have increased the...
Zhang, G. M., Lu, Z. Q., Jiang, H. B., Asgari, S.
Most parasitic wasps inject maternal factors into the host hemocoel to suppress the host immune system and ensure successful development of their progeny. Melanization is one of the insect defence...
Lectin-induced haemocyte inactivation in insects (2004)
Glatz, R., Roberts, H. L. S., Li, D. M., Sarjan, M., Theopold, U. H., Asgari, S., ...
Most multimeric lectins are adhesion molecules, promoting attachment and spreading on surface glycodeterminants. In addition, some lectins have counter-adhesion properties, detaching already spread...
Rahman, M. M., Roberts, H. L. S., Sarjan, M., Asgari, S., Schmidt, O.
The use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins to control insect vectors of human diseases and agricultural pests is threatened by the possible evolution of resistance in major pest species. In...
Endoparasitoid insects introduce maternal factors into the body of their host at oviposition to suppress cellular defences for the protection of the developing parasitoid. We have shown that...
Glatz, R., Schmidt, O., Asgari, S.
Polydnaviruses are endogenous particles that are crucial for the survival of endoparasitoid wasps, providing active suppression of the immune function of the lepidopteran host in which wasp larvae...
Zhang, G. M., Schmidt, O., Asgari, S.
Maternal factors introduced into host insects by endoparasitoid wasps are usually essential for successful parasitism. This includes polydnaviruses (PDVs) that are produced in the reproductive organ...
Le, N. T., Asgari, S., Amaya, K., Tan, F. F., Beckage, N. E.
The gregarious braconid wasp Cotesia congregata parasitizes host larvae of Manduca sexta, and several other sphingid species. Parasitism induces host immunosuppression due to the disruptive action of...
Is cell surface calreticulin involved in phagocytosis by insect hemocytes? (2003)
The innate immune system of insects consists of humoral and cellular components involved in the recognition of and responses to intruding foreign micro- or macroorganisms. Several molecules have been...
Asgari, S., Zhang, G. M., Zareie, R., Schmidt, O.
Activation of prophenoloxidase (proPO) in insects is a defense mechanism against intruding microorganisms and parasites. Pattern recognition molecules induce activation of an enzymatic cascade...
Polydnaviruses are associated with certain parasitoid wasps and are introduced into the body cavity of the host caterpillar during oviposition. Some of the viral genes are expressed in host tissues...
Reineke, A., Asgari, S., Ma, G., Beck, M., Schmidt, O.
Endoparasitoid wasps produce maternal protein secretions, which are transported into the body of insect hosts at oviposition to regulate host physiology for successful development of their offspring....
Asgari, S., Reineke, A., Beck, M., Schmidt, O.
Maternal protein secretions from endoparasitoid wasps are evolutionary adaptations to regulate host physiology as part of an extended wasp phenotype. Virus-like particles (VLPs) produced in the calyx...
Expression of growth factors in Dictyostelium discoideum (2001)
Asgari, S., Arun, S., Slade, M. B., Marshall, J., Williams, K. L., Wheldrake, J. F.
Growth factors and their binding proteins are important proteins regulating mammalian cell proliferation and differentiation so there is considerable interest in producing them as recombinant...
Promoter studies of a polydnavirus gene from Cotesia rubecula (Hym : Braconidae) (2001)
The Cotesia rubecula polydnavirus gene, CrV1, is expressed in a highly transient fashion. Within four hours after egg deposition and virus infection, tissues of the host caterpillar, Pieris rapae,...
Asgari, S, Hardy, JRE, Cooke, BD
Liver samples from rabbits killed by RHDV, collected from five States in Australia in 1996 and 1997 were analysed by RT-PCR. A 398 bp fragment of the capsid protein (VP60) gene was amplified by PCR...
A protein with protective properties against the cellular defense reactions in insects (1998)
Asgari, S, Theopold, U, Wellby, C, Schmidt, O
The molecular mechanism of how insects recognize intruding microorganisms and parasites and distinguish them from own body structures is not well known. We explored evolutionary adaptations in an...
Asgari, S, Hardy, JRE, Sinclair, RG, Cooke, BD
Field collected flies were screened for the presence of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) by applying reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) in which primers specific to the capsid protein of the...
A polydnavirus-encoded protein of an endoparasitoid wasp is an immune suppressor (1997)
Asgari, S, Schmidt, O, Theopold, U
The molecular mechanism by which polydnaviruses of endoparasitoid wasps disrupt cell-mediated encapsulation reactions of host insects is largely unknown. Here we show that a polydnavirus-encoded...