Faculty Profile

Walter S. Leal
Professor of Entomology
Entomology
37B Briggs Hall
Office (530)-752-7755
Lab
wsleal@ucdavis.edu
http://chemecol.ucdavis.edu/
[Picture of Walter S. Leal]

Degrees:
1990 - PhD - Tsukuba University, Tsukuba-Ibaraki, Japan - - Biochemistry
1987 - MS - Mie University, Tsu-Mie, Japan - Agricultural Chemistry
1982 - BS - Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife-PE, Brazil - Chemical Engineering

Awards:
2008 Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, & Toxicology, Entomological Society of America
2008 Medal of Science “Mérito em Ciência,” Brazilian Society of Entomology
2007 Silverstein-Simeone Award, International Society of Chemical Ecology
2006 Scudder Lecture Award, University of British Columbia, Canada
2005 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2002 Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology, ESA-Pacific Branch
1998 Award of the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology (Equivalent to ESA Fellow in the US)
1997-1999 Bio-Oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, Fellowship
1995-1997 Science and Technology Agency, Fellowship
1995 Medal of Achievement, Entomological Society of Brazil
1994 Technology Prize (Gijitsusho), Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotech. & Agrochemistry

Professional Societies:
Entomological Society of America; International Society for Chemical Ecology; Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry; Japan Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Grad Group Affiliations and Specialties:
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Non-DBS Grad Group(s) - AgCHEM: Agricultural & Environmental Chemistry

Publications:
Syed, Z. and W. S. Leal. 2008. Mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105:13598-13603. http://www.pnas.org/content/105/36/13598.full.pdf

Wogulis, M., T. I. Morgan, Y. Ishida, W. S. Leal, and D. K. Wilson. The crystal structure of an odorant binding protein from Anopheles gambiae: Evidence for a common ligand release mechanism. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 339: 157-164, 2006.

Leal, W. S., R. M. R. Barbosa, W. Xu, Y. Ishida, Z. Syed, N. Latte, A. M. Chen, T. I. Morgan, A. J. Cornel, and A. Furtado. 2008. Reverse and conventional chemical ecology approaches for the development of oviposition attractants for Culex mosquitoes. PLoS ONE, 3(8): e3045. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003045. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003045

Ishida, Y. and W. S. Leal. 2008. Chiral discrimination of the Japanese beetle sex pheromone and a behavioral antagonist by a pheromone-degrading enzyme. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105: 9076-9080. http://www.pnas.org/content/105/26/9076.full.pdf

Syed, Z., and W. S. Leal. 2007. Maxillary Palps Are Broad Spectrum Odorant Detectors in Culex quinquefasciatus. Chem. Senses 32:727–738.

Syed, Z., Y. Ishida, K. Taylor, D. A. Kimbrell and W. S. Leal. 2006. Pheromone reception in fruit flies expressing a moth’s odorant receptor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103:16538-16543. http://www.pnas.org/content/103/44/16538.full.pdf

Ishida, Y. and W. S. Leal. 2005. Rapid inactivation of a moth pheromone. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:14075-14079. PNAS Cover Article: http://www.pnas.org/content/102/39/14075.full.pdf

Leal, W. S., A. M. Chen, Y. Ishida, V. P. Chiang, M. L. Erickson, T. I. Morgan, and J. M. Tsuruda. 2005. Kinetics and molecular properties of pheromone binding and release. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:5386-5391. http://www.pnas.org/content/102/15/5386.full.pdf

Leal, W. S., P. H. G. Zarbin, H. Wojtasek, S. Kuwahara, M. Hasegawa, and Y. Ueda. 1997. Medicinal alkaloid as a sex pheromone. Nature 385: 213.

Leal, W. S. 1996 Chemical communication in scarab beetles: Reciprocal behavioral agonist-antagonist activities of chiral pheromones. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 12112-12115. http://www.pnas.org/content/93/22/12112.full.pdf

Research Interests:
Molecular basis of insect olfaction: Insect perceive the world through small-molecule signals that communicate the availability of food, the presence of friends and foes, the readiness to mate, and other information relevant for survival. In general, mate-finding is an essential prerequisite for exploring insects’ enormous reproductive potential. The entire olfactory process encompasses the reception of semiochemicals (information-carrying chemical compounds) by specialized apparatus in the periphery, such as insect antennae and maxillary palps, processing of these signals in the antennal lobe, integration with other sensory modalities in the protocerebrum, with ultimate translation into behavior. Because the relevant chemical signals are normally produced in minute amounts and diluted in the environment with a complex mixture of chemical compounds derived from a myriad of sources, the olfactory system in insects evolved as a remarkably sensitive and selective system, a gold standard in olfaction, which approaches the theoretical limit for a detector. Four types of olfactory proteins play major roles in the extraordinary properties of the insect’s olfactory system, namely odorant-binding proteins, odorant-degrading enzymes, odorant receptors and sensory neuron membrane proteins. We aim at unveiling the molecular mechanisms underlying the remarkable sensitivity, selectivity, and the dynamics of insect olfactory system, and how specifically these proteins contribute to the robustness of these state-of-the-art detectors.
http://chemecol.ucdavis.edu/

Laboratory Personnel:
37 Briggs Hall - Zain Syed, Julien Pelletier, Ana Claudia do Amaral Melo, Wei Xu, zhao Liu, Ruben Palma, Scott McCluen, Derrick Stacy, Charles Assare & Gabriel
http://chemecol.ucdavis.edu/

Teaching Interests:


Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, Natural Products Chemistry

Courses Taught:
ENT 102 Insect Physiology