Megan Meuti (Nicol)

Research Focus

Many of us intuitively recognize that our mosquito problems are seasonal; there are times of the year when mosquitoes are abundant and we cannot go outside without getting bitten (e.g., late spring and summer), while there are other times when we enjoy a reprieve from mosquito bites (e.g., late fall and winter). I am interested in how mosquitoes tell what time of year it is and appropriately respond to their environment. Members of my lab group study how circadian clock genes allow mosquitoes to measure day length to determine the time of year; how male mosquitoes change their accessory gland proteins to influence female behavior and physiology; and whether mosquitoes in urban environments are active for longer periods during the year and/or bite humans more frequently. We use a variety of molecular, genetic and physiological techniques to investigate these questions. Our ultimate goal is to uncover specific ways to manipulate seasonal responses in insects so that we can control them more effectively.

I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2004 with dual Bachelor's of Science Degrees in Entomology and Microbiology. I then continued my graduate work at OSU, where I worked in Dr. David Denlinger's Insect Molecuar Physiology Lab, earning my PhD in December of 2014. I taught general biology as well as courses on insect biology for science and non-science majors at Kenyon College for one year before returning to OSU as an Assistant Professor of Entomology in 2016.

Climate change upping the ante in fight against disease-carrying mosquitoes
WOSU 89.7 NPR News | By Matthew Rand | Published July 25, 2022

Graduate Student Mentorship, Major Advisor

• 2023 – present, Hannah Dehus. “Seasonal responses and urban mosquito management in mosquitoes.” After working as a laboratory technician for a year and a half, Hannah joined the lab through the Environmental Sciences Graduate program. She plans to defend her Master’s in SP 2025 and transition to a PhD student in SU 2025.

• 2023 – present, Chloe Chiu. “Uncovering reproductive consequences of seasonal differences in mosquito ejaculate.” Chloe joined the lab as a Master’s student in August 2023.

• 2020 – 2024, Matthew Wolkoff. “Determining the role of the circadian clock and genetic variation on the diapause response in the Northern house mosquito.” Matt joined my lab as a PhD student in August 2020 and defended his dissertation in July 2024.

• 2019 – 2023, Alden Siperstein. “Characterizing seasonal changes in mosquito abundance and uncovering the genetic regulation of biting in Culex mosquitoes.” Alden joined my lab in August 2019 and defended his PhD in August 2023.

• 2018 – 2024,  Lydia Fyie.  "The impacts of urbanization on mosquito overwintering responses". Lydia joined my lab as a master’s student and is co-advised by Dr. Mary Gardiner, and officially transitioned a PhD in November, 2020. She graduated with her PhD in May 2024.

• 2018 – 2021, Caitlin Peffers. "Characterizing the photoperiodic response and circadian clock in the Northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens." Caitlin joined my lab as a Master’s student in the fall of 2018, and graduated with her MS in May 2021.

• 2017-2018 (transferred) Robin Bautista-Jimenez. "Males matter: determining the role of male mosquitoes on seasonal differences in female reproductive physiology."

Recent Peer-reviewed Manuscripts (^HS = high school student author,  ^U = undergraduate student author; ^G = graduate student author advised by Megan)

1. Dhungana, P., Wei, X., Meuti, M.E. and Sim, C., 2024. Genome‐wide identification of PAR domain protein 1 (PDP1) targets through ChIP‐seq reveals the regulation of diapause‐specific characteristics in Culex pipiens. Insect Molecular Biology. doi.org/10.1111/imb.12943
2. Bianco, O.^U, Abdi, A.^HS, Klein, M., Wei, X, Sim, C. and Meuti, M.E., 2024. Consuming royal jelly alters several of the phenotypes associated with overwintering dormancy in mosquitoes. Special issue of “Rising stars in Insect Physiology.” Frontiers in Insect Science. 4, p.1358619. doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2024.1358619
3. Meuti, M.E., Fyie, L.R. ^G, Fiorta, M.^U and Denlinger, D.L., 2024. Trade-offs between winter survival and reproduction in female insects. Integrative and Comparative Biology, p.icae027. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icae027
4. Dehus, H.^G, Siperstein, A.^G, Pomeroy, L.W. and Meuti, M.E., 2024. Characterizing the seasonal abundance and reproductive activity of overwintering Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes. Journal of Medical Entomology, 61, p.644-56. doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae024
5. Heilig, M., Sturiale, S.L., Marzec, S., Holzapfel, C.M., Bradshaw, W.E., Meuti, M.E. and Armbruster, P.A., 2024. Phenotypic variation in biting behavior associated with differences in expression of olfactory genes in the vector mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 61, pp.367-376. doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae003
6. Fyie, L.R.^G, Westby, K.M. and Meuti, M.E., 2024. Light pollution disrupts circadian clock gene expression in two mosquito vectors during their overwintering dormancy. Scientific Reports, 14, p.2398. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52794-x
7. Marzec, S., Siperstein, A.^G, Zhou, A., Holzapfel, C.M., Bradshaw, W.E., Meuti, M.E. and Armbruster, P.A., 2023. MicroRNA Expression Prior to Biting in a Vector Mosquito Anticipates Physiological Processes Related to Energy Utilization, Reproduction and Immunity. Insects, 14, p.700. doi.org/10.3390/insects14080700
8. Dhungana, P., Wei, X., Meuti, M.E. and Sim, C., 2023. Identification of CYCLE targets that contribute diverse features of circadian rhythms in the mosquito Culex pipiens. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics, 48, p.101140. doi.org/10.1016/j.cbd.2023.101140
9. Scott, S.B., Sivakoff, F.S., Meuti, M.E. and Gardiner, M.M., 2023. Metals could challenge pollinator conservation in legacy cities. Journal of Insect Conservation, 27(3), pp.361-375. doi.org/10.1007/s10841-023-00474-y
10. Fyie, L.R.^G, Tronetti, H.R.^U, Gardiner, M.M. and Meuti, M.E., 2023. Potential for urban warming to postpone overwintering dormancy of temperate mosquitoes. Journal of Thermal Biology, 115, p.103594. doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103594
11. Siperstein, A.^G, Pomeroy, L.W., Robare, S.^U, Sarko, L.^U, Dehus, H.^U, Lowmiller, T.^U, Fyie, L.^G and Meuti, M.E., 2023. Characterizing seasonal changes in the reproductive activity of Culex mosquitoes throughout the fall, winter, and spring in Ohio. Parasites & Vectors, 16(1), pp.1-13. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05806-0
12. Meuti M.E., Siperstein, A.^G, and Wolkoff, M.^G, 2023. Points to consider when establishing and rearing Culex mosquitoes in the laboratory. Cold Spring Harb Protocols,  2023(8), p.107823. DOI: 10.1011/pdb.top107823
13. Meuti M.E., Siperstein, A. ^G, and Wolkoff, M. ^G, 2023. Establishing a Culex colony from field-collected eggs. Cold Spring Harb Protocols,  2023(8), p.108079. DOI: 10.1011/pdb.prot108079
14. Meuti M.E., Siperstein, A. ^G, and Wolkoff, M. ^G, 2023. Rearing and maintaining a Culex colony in the laboratory. Cold Spring Harb Protocols, 2023(8), p.108080. DOI: 10.1011/pdb.prot108080
15. Wolkoff, M. ^G, Fyie, L. ^G and Meuti, M.E., 2023. Light Pollution Disrupts Seasonal Differences in the Daily Activity and Metabolic Profiles of the Northern House Mosquito, Culex pipiens. Insects, 14(1), p.64. doi.org/10.3390/insects14010064
16. Siperstein, A. ^G, Marzec, S., Fritz, M.L., Holzapfel, C.M., Bradshaw, W.E., Armbruster, P.A. and Meuti, M.E., 2022. Conserved molecular pathways underlying biting in two divergent mosquito genera. Evolutionary Applications, 15(5), pp.878-890. doi.org/10.1111/eva.13379
17. Peffers, C. ^G and Meuti, M.E., 2022. Characterizing the relative abundance of circadian transcription factors in diapausing and nondiapausing Northern house mosquitoes. Journal of Insect Physiology, 140, p.104404. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104404
18. King, K., Meuti, M.E. and Johnson, N.F., 2021. Identification and expression of odorant binding proteins in the egg-parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston)(Hymenoptera, Scelionidae, Telenominae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 87, p.251.
19. Fyie, L.R. ^G, Gardiner, M.M. and Meuti, M.E., 2021. Artificial light at night alters the seasonal responses of biting mosquitoes. Journal of Insect Physiology, 129, p.104194. DOI:10.3897/jhr.87.68954
20. Teets, N.M. and Meuti, M.E., 2021. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: A Tutorial of Nanda-Hamner Protocols. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 36(3), pp.221-225. doi.org/10.1177/0748730421998469
21. Peffers, C.S. ^G, Pomeroy, L.W. and Meuti, M.E., 2021. Critical Photoperiod and Its Potential to Predict Mosquito Distributions and Control Medically Important Pests. Journal of Medical Entomology. 58(4), pp.1610-1618. doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjab049
22. Fyie, L.R. ^G, Gardiner, M.M. and Meuti, M.E., 2021. Artificial light at night alters the seasonal responses of biting mosquitoes. Journal of Insect Physiology, 129, p.104194. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104194
23. Huck, D.T.^U, Klein, M.S., and Meuti, M.E., 2021. “Determining the effects of nutrition on the reproductive physiology of male mosquitoes.” Journal of Insect Physiology. 129, p.104191. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104191
24. Meuti, M.E., and Harrell, R., 2020. Preparing and injecting embryos of Culex mosquitoes to generate null mutations using CRISPR/Cas9. Journal of Visualized Experiments. Journal of Visualized Experiments: Jove, (163). DOI: 10.3791/61651
25. Chang, V.^U and Meuti, M.E. 2020. Circadian transcription factors differentially regulate features of the adult overwintering diapause in the Northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 121, p.103365. doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103365